Two Roads Diverged
by We'reTheOnesWhoWrite
Summary: Sometimes your life can change in an instant depending on the choices you make. Sometimes the road you think you're supposed to be on divides and you take the turn not knowing where you'll end up. Young rebel Rick Grimes always thought he knew where he life was headed… and it was nowhere good, until she walked into his classroom. A young high school Richonne romance story.
1. Chapter 1

This story is based on a prompt from one of our lovely Tumblr followers **Magnificentbackgirl99**. We hope you enjoy what the writers have created.

The first chapter of this teenage love story is brought to you by **winterscorpion** , who introduces a younger version of the couple that we all know and love with wit and charm. She sets the foundation of the story with a poem, one that will help navigate Rick and Michonne down the road that they were meant to travel.

Be sure to check out her other works on on FF page

 **-We're The Ones Who Write**

* * *

The squeak of the marker on the whiteboard at the front of the classroom was halted by sound of the door opening. Carol halted her writing and swiveled her head to see who had the guts to interrupt her class. The grey-eyed teacher may have been demure in stature but she was a highly respected alumnus of the high school with a reputation for sharp wit and an even sharper temper. Her famous catch phrase, "Don't let the pixie cut fool y'all. Cutting you down to my size is only a razor's edge away" was well known to many a wayward teenage who tried to test their boundaries as they were wont to do at that age.

As she turned her attention to the opening door her gaze fell fleetingly on one of those very same wayward teens. Her favorite actually, though he probably didn't know it, she sighed at the sight of the top of his curly brown head. Probably because he wasn't accustomed to being anyones favorite anything was what endeared him to her in the first place. Carol Peletier had seen many a sad story come and go through her classroom through the years and the town being the size it was, his story was commonplace knowledge to not only the high school faculty but the townspeople in general.

The Grimes family did not do themselves any favors either, what with the patriarch in and out of county jail and the mama in and out of the local bar. The eldest, Jeff had made his escape from the small town life and the scandalous name early, joining the army, leaving the youngest, Rick to fend for himself against their father's rage and their mother's notorious promiscuity. It was the fighting spirit in Rick that Carol saw that drew her to him. That grit in his piercing blue stare that made her want to protect the boy. She'd broken up many an altercation, results of the kids hair trigger temper, and had spent enough time giving detention to him to know there was more than the usual sullen bad boy façade he had cultivated over years of parental abuse and neglect. She had fought and won for him to be put in her accelerated English class against the wishes of her boss, Principal Horvath, who didn't want to look past the boys frequent transgressions with his fellow sidekick Shane.

"Those boys are trouble Carol," she remembered from their heated debate, "Especially Grimes! My shoulder still ain't right from that last brawl him and the Walsh boy caused in the cafeteria last month!"

"He's got talent Dale," she had repeated her constant argument, "I've spent time with him. I've gotten to know him. I CAN'T… scratch that… I WON'T let you discount him because of what you think of his family… his mother in particular." Knowing there was a story behind the principal's clear disdain for Rick didn't just account because of youthful shenanigans she pushed that button to get what she wanted.

"Fine," the beleaguered principal bit back out to her knowing he wasn't going to win and not prepared to face his own demons with regard to the Grimes family issues, "But don't mind the 'I told you so' when the boy ends up in an orange jumpsuit to match his daddy's."

Convincing the principal was a cakewalk compared to convincing Rick to be in her "nerds for turds" class but she fought him just as hard, finally winning him over with hard talk of "finally proving this town and those turd nerds wrong" about him. Rick never seemed convinced he belonged but Carol knew better. Especially after reading some of his heart wrenching, and possibly autobiographical, short stories filled with the smashed mirrors and smashed hearts of broken trust. She was convinced she was undoubtedly right about Rick being far different from his father, and she was going to make sure he made it out of this town alive.

"Miss Peletier, sorry for the interruption but I've got a new student that transferred in today," Principal Horvath said quietly as he entered the room. Carol thought it was strange that a new student was personally brought to her by the principal but she got distracted enough by the young beauty that followed in after him.

"Hello, I'm Michonne Renaud," the voice coming from the young woman seemed to hold the confidence and a maturity that usually came with years of experience.

 _You walked into the room and now my heart has been stolen_

 _You took me back in time to when I was unbroken_

 _Now you're all I want_

 _And I knew it from the very first moment_

 _'Cause a light came on when I heard that song and I want you to sing it again_

Rick's cerulean eyes shot up toward the door, the smooth, soft voice grabbing his attention instantly. It wasn't just the clipped northern accent that brought his head up from his standard position at the back of the classroom, it was the melodic lilt he heard in those four words. Like a song he wanted to hear on repeat until the tape wore out, and he hadn't even seen the singer yet. He wanted to lean to the side a bit to see what housed that musically timbered voice but his vision was blocked by the ubiquitous, flowing brown curls of the head in front of him. The compulsion to adjust his seat was overridden by his pride though. Couldn't let these nerds see him have even a modicum of care for the new addition to the class. His disdain for his fellow classmates was well known and he would see it as a sign of weakness if he thought they would witness him actually participating with them in their curiosity.

"Well you don't see _that_ everyday," Rick heard the barely restrained whisper of the young man two rows ahead of him, "and damn sure not round these parts anyway." Rick grimaced and rolled his eyes with not a little bit of jealousy that that asshole Terry had an unobstructed view of what he was so desperate to see. The golden boy of their entire class, with his smooth tan skin and designer clothes (that he boasted to everyone about buying in the big, fancy city), was Rick's own personal nemesis.

It wasn't because Terry was popular, either. Rick was by no means an outcast, having good looks and a crew of his own. No, it was the guy's pure smugness. The way he acted like he was definitely better than this school, better than this town, better than Rick in every way. Terry's family had the money, lived on the good side of town and the world was his to grab by the balls because he had the means by which to do the grabbing. Being class president was an easy achievement that he felt was owed to him. Being star of the basketball team was only what was _supposed_ to be his position. Everything came easy for Terry and that was just something Rick couldn't abide, having never had anything come easy for him. Not his second hand clothes that he worked part-time at his best friend Daryl's family owned garage to buy. Not his beat-up pickup truck that he rebuilt himself from various parts at that same garage.

Definitely not the peek he was still trying to get of the new girl that Terry _easily_ had full view of. It made Rick hate him just a little bit more.

"Well she's certainly not from around here, or even this state from the sound of her," the headful of flowing brown curls turned to Rick so he could just manage a glimpse of the new girl's body in profile. And _what a body_ it was, from what he could see from his obscured vantage point. He managed to glimpse the lithe body in fitted army green pants sporting multiple cargo pockets cinched at the waist with a chain link belt. His eyes travelled up past what appeared to be an ass of a goddess to a sliver of smooth chocolate skin, barely hidden by a cropped top and matching jacket. Just as he was about to glimpse the face he'd wanted to see since hearing her voice, Principal Horvath moved to continue the quiet talk with .

"And what's that on her bag? Hmph Black Girl Magic? What the heck is that," Lori continued her assessment, flipping her wavy brown hair over her shoulder in a gesture that annoyed Rick more than usual, "you think she's from New Orleans or somewhere they do voodoo or something?"

"Jesus Lori, where do you get that shit from?" Rick snapped a little harsher than he meant. "Even I know that has nothing to do with voodoo and I don't even have four fifty-two-inch TV's in my house."

"Clearly that's not for you to understand," Sasha, sitting in front of Lori called back, "It's a sista thing. Why don't you quiet down, turn on some Taylor Swift or something and let us handle the intros from here ok?"

"Jesus, why're they always trying to make it seem like I can't understand," Lori turned with a fake plea in her eyes, "I listen to Chance the Rapper, I even rocked boxer braids a couple of times if you remember Sasha."

"Yeah, and I told your Kardashian wannabe ass you looked like an idiot then and you sound like one now," Sasha retorted immediately.

" _Quiet._ All of you." Carol suppressed a chuckle at the clapback her student delivered to the other as she studied the tablet Principal Horvath had given her with the new student's past school records. She wasn't easily impressed, but as she scrolled through the glowing teacher's reports and A+ after A+ she had to give the girl her respectful due. Class President, AP courses in both English and Applied Sciences, Calculus, _shit she should be already enrolled in University, there's got to be a story there,_ she wondered as she looked up to appraise the young woman. _A beauty too,_ she sighed as her analytical mind already tried to gauge where her new student's place would be in the new environment. She was met with deep thoughtful eyes that looked straight back at her with a boldness and confidence that women years older hadn't been able to achieve. Carol saw that she wouldn't need to convince this one of her potential. This young woman knew what she was worth already and, based on her school records alone, wasn't going to let this stop in the little town be any kind of hindrance.

"Well alright Michonne, very pleased to meet you," Carol started, "I see that you're probably way ahead of our current curriculum, but this is an Advanced English course so you shouldn't feel like we're too far behind."

"No ma'am, I already saw you were starting the poem by Robert Frost on the board," Michonne replied back, "I've already written a dissertation paper using it to show the impact of choices in correlation with the argument of fate versus destiny earlier this year. I can email it to you if you want. It's one of my favorite poems though, so I don't mind going back over it."

"Well, I'd certainly love to read that paper Michonne," Carol did an internal somersault that she had only done once when she read Rick's short stories for the first time. It was rare to get a really promising student who truly loved to learn and the magic of the written word. Having TWO, though? Well that was just lightning in a bottle, and Carol couldn't wait to explore their potential. With that in mind she turned back to her class to see how she could arrange Michonne's placement and was slightly disappointed that the only empty seat was next to the cocky golden boy Terry. _No matter, this girl's gonna have them all falling over her anyway_ she surmised as she peeped Terry's smug expression. The egotistical kid looked as if he just _knew_ that he was in prime position, as was his due, to take a first crack at the new diamond amongst them.

"If you'd like to have a seat over there," Carol gestured to the empty seat. Rick seethed at his position at the back seat, but his annoyance lasted only momentarily because finally he was able to see the face that came with the voice that sang out to him earlier. _What a face it was._ He watched her make her way to the seat in front of Terry and was briefly taken aback as their eyes met. Crystal blue clashed with roasted coffee for what may have been a second but felt like a lifetime. Rick could see them walking down the street hand in hand, could feel her laughter as he tickled her on a couch, he saw them dancing slowly staring into each other eyes just like they were at the moment. He saw her eyes crinkle at the corner as if in confusion before she turned swiftly away to sit in the chair giving him the back of her beautiful head to ponder. Rick immediately felt the loss of the connection he could swear they shared a moment before.

"Well hey girl," Terry leaned forward as Michonne bent to retrieve her binder out of her bag, "I'm Terry and I'm really all you need to know for now."

Michonne scoffed lightly and turned to give Terry a full appraisal, "Well, Terry, I'm Michonne and I think I'll be deciding who I _need_ to know if that's ok with you. I think I _need_ to actually finish sitting down before you feel the _need_ to speak to me. We done with telling me what I _need?_ Good."

Rick's bark of laughter was barely heard over the loud guffaws of the rest of the class seeing Terry put in his place so succinctly. Sasha leaned over with tears in her eyes from laughter, "Girrrrlll, I haven't heard a read like that since … well never. I'm Sasha," offering her hand to Michonne who leaned forward to take it, "and if that's what we have to look forward to it would be my pleasure to welcome you!" Sasha's laugh was infectious and Michonne couldn't help but to return her smile.

"Well I don't know if you should look forward to that particular kind of clapback but thanks for the offer," Michonne flashed her megawatt smile as Rick just continued to listen, hoping she never stopped speaking.

Lori glanced back and forth between Rick's piercing stare and the new girl, seeing that she had lost all of Rick's attention, a position she was not used to at all. Annoyed, yet doing her best to mask it, she made her play for the new girl. While Carol went back to the white board to finish writing the poem in full Lori leaned forward, strategically blocking Rick's view, and whispered loudly, "Hey giirrrrl, I'm Lori and I love your dreadlocks."

"Locs," Michonne replied without turning her head.

"I.. I'm … excuse me?," Lori sputtered.

"They're called locs. If you're referring to my hair and there is nothing to "Dread" about it. It grows out of my scalp same as yours," a hard edge to Michonne's voice that got the attention of everyone around her immediately.

"I… I'm sorry, I… uhh I just thought that's what that style was called," Lori said a little taken aback by the icy tone in Michonne's voice.

"Well, then I suggest you read up on styles before you go throwing out words you don't know the meaning of. This _is_ an advanced English course right," Michonne finally deigned to turn and address Lori, "Then I guess you should know the power behind the words you use before you use them."

Carol took that as her cue to diffuse the situation and cleared her throat loudly, "Alright class, let's have a look at the assignment and have a think about the power behind the words on the board." Michonne thought she was being reprimanded until she caught the quick wink from Carol's grey eyes.

 _ **The Road Not Taken**_

 _BY_ _ROBERT FROST_

 _Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,_

 _And sorry I could not travel both_

 _And be one traveler, long I stood_

 _And looked down one as far as I could_

 _To where it bent in the undergrowth;_

 _Then took the other, as just as fair,_

 _And having perhaps the better claim,_

 _Because it was grassy and wanted wear;_

 _Though as for that the passing there_

 _Had worn them really about the same,_

 _And both that morning equally lay_

 _In leaves no step had trodden black._

 _Oh, I kept the first for another day!_

 _Yet knowing how way leads on to way,_

 _I doubted if I should ever come back._

 _I shall be telling this with a sigh_

 _Somewhere ages and ages hence:_

 _Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—_

 _I took the one less traveled by,_

 _And that has made all the difference._

Rick finally stopped staring holes into the back of Michonne's head to review the writing on the board. Something resonated in him as he read the words. They seemed to jump and come to life in front of him. He barely heard Lori as she tried to gain some sympathy from him with her whispered admonishments of "stuck up bitch" and "who does she think she is". He was thinking of the road he felt he was about to set his feet on. Something was about to change with the introduction of Michonne Renaud.

 _I swear that every word you sing, you wrote them for me_

 _Like it was a private show, I know you never saw me_

 _When the lights come on and I'm on my own_

 _Will you be there to sing it again?_

 _Could I be the one you talk about in all your stories_

 _Can I be him?_

Song credit: "Can I Be Him" performed by James Arthur

Songwriters: Richard James Parkhouse / George Henry Tizzard / James Andrew Arthur / Negin Djafari


	2. Chapter 2

The second chapter brings us **cranesinthesky** to help build the relationship between Rick and Michonne. Like her other fanfiction stories, she will leave us grinning from ear to ear with the sweetness as she puts people in the right place at the right time, for the unexpected to happen.

Be sure to check out her other stories on her FF page.

 **-We're The Ones Who Write**

* * *

Chapter 2: Took The Other, Just As Fair

 _October_

"And you're sure you don't want to go to the homecoming dance," Sasha questioned for what seemed like the tenth time that day. "Absolutely sure?"

Michonne shook her head, refusing to change her answer. "Nope, not this year, Sasha. It's just not my thing."

"Listen, I know this is a small town and it seems like everybody and their mama knows each other, but I promise you it won't be that bad," Sasha assured her as they walked towards their lockers. "And if the issue is Terry, Bob and I will make sure he won't bother you at all tonight."

"I know you will," Michonne smirked as they came to a stop in front of their lockers. Sasha had a strong dislike for the captain of the basketball team and ever since she had formed a close bond with Michonne after her first day in their AP English class a few months ago, she always tried to derail Terry's attempts of getting with Michonne. He wasn't good for her and just simply didn't seem right for her, no matter how hard he tried to maintain that he was.

"I'll pass on this one, Sasha," Michonne smiled sadly at her friend as she removed her biology book from her locker. "Go. Have fun with Bob. You don't need me as the awkward third wheel tonight."

"You wouldn't have been. Trust me," Sasha assured her, rolling her eyes. "I still can't believe I agreed to go with him. I don't know what the hell I was thinking."

"You were thinking about making Abraham jealous. Isn't he going with Rosita?" The love triangle between Sasha, Abraham Ford and cheerleader Rosita Espinosa had been the talk of the school for the past month, much to Sasha's dismay. One minute Abraham had Sasha on his arm, the next he had broken up with her in favor of the pretty, Latina that every boy in their school was after.

She rolled her eyes again. "That's what I heard." She shrugged nonchalantly, "But hey- it is what is it. Maybe she'll give him what I wasn't ready for," she muttered, her eyes averting away.

Michonne placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You were right to not let him pressure you into having sex. If you weren't ready, you weren't ready." She spoke from experience, her ex from back home up north had done the same with her until she shut that shit down quick effectively breaking it off. "You'll know when you're ready and it'll be with the right person."

"Yeah," Sasha nodded thoughtfully, giving her friend a thankful smile. "Maybe if I had someone look at me the way Rick Grimes looks at you, I wouldn't be in this predicament."

Michonne scoffed, yet she could still feel her cheeks reddening and she was glad that her dark skin masked it. Nearly everyone in the school had noticed Rick's crush on her. His eyes always managed to find her in a roomful of people as if she was the only one there, basking in her glory. They spoke here and there, learning little details about each other and discussing their English assignments which was the only class they shared together. Michonne had grown to like him. He was a sweet and genuine guy, despite the roughness that Terry claimed he had. He had his moments, sure, but they didn't get to see the real glimpses of Rick Grimes that she saw. They were from two different worlds and two opposite sides of town- one on each side of the railroad tracks that separated the upper class from the working class, but Michonne liked him no matter what his status was. He was smart, sweet and that southern accent he spoke with had her melting on the inside every time.

There was only one thing- or rather, person- that wasn't too fond of it at all.

"Or the way Lori looks at Rick," Michonne mentioned, raising an eyebrow.

Sasha sucked her teeth. "Fuck that wannabe Kardashian. They broke up months ago and the only reason she's after Rick now is because Phillip is messing around with Andrea now."

"Speaking of the devil," Michonne muttered, nodding behind Sasha.

Lori walked past them, flipping her hair as she chatted away on her cell phone planning out last minute details of her homecoming attire. She paid no attention to them as she opened the double doors leading outside, leaving behind her a trail of hot air that Sasha and Michonne weren't sure came from outside or from off of the devilish teenager herself.

"Well, no matter what you do tonight- shoot your shot," Sasha nudged her shoulder playfully. "And I want to hear all of the details tomorrow during our volunteer gig."

"There won't be any details to tell," Michonne laughed. "Not unless you want to hear me ramble on about an essay because that's what I'm doing tonight- reading and studying for the PSAT's." She had already planned her evening and honestly couldn't wait to get home to begin.

Sasha dismissed her comment, pretending like she couldn't hear her as she backed away towards the double doors. "Tomorrow, Chonne!" She left out before Michonne could object, a grin on her face.

Eager to get home, Michonne finished up at her locker and made her way outside, the hot sun beaming down on her as she adjusted her bag on her shoulder. The air was hot and sticky, much more humid than it was back in her hometown up north.

Things were so different in this small Georgia town, she noticed. The area was definitely much more rural than what she was used to and it seemed like everyone knew each other, with residents conversing in lengthy conversations at the local grocery store instead of the small talk (or no talk at all) back in her hometown. It felt.. homey and comforting and she found herself quickly falling into place as if she had lived there her whole life.

Just a few months ago, she wouldn't have imagined ever staying there for long. She had been disappointed and angry when her parents announced that they were moving to the southern state and then heartbroken when they announced their divorce, her father moving out and choosing to live in an apartment in the city while her mother chose to stay in the small town with Michonne. It all seemed to go from bad to worse as they tried to figure out how to adjust to this new life, but it looked like things were finally starting to come around.

She walked up to her car and placed her bag in the back seat. She slid into the driver's seat and was just about to put the key in the ignition when a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Her eyes flickered over to the baseball field where Rick was leaning against the fence, his head down and arms folded.

Rick wasn't alone. Standing across from him was Lori, her cell phone nowhere in sight for the first time all day. She cozied up closer to his stiff frame, batting her eyelashes wildly and flipping her hair over her shoulder while a flirty grin spread across her face. Rick was unamused, taking a step away from her with his hands in his pockets.

The next action happened quickly, immediately causing Michonne to stare in incredible interest. Lori had stepped even closer to Rick, wrapping her arms around his neck to bring him down to her height. She placed her lips on his. Rick was bewildered, pushing her away from him. Not hard, but enough for her to remove her arms from around him.

"God, Lori! What the hell is wrong with you?" he exclaimed loudly, his southern accent more pronounced with the anger in his voice. He ran a hand through his hair. "I told you- we're not together."

Lori glanced around them with embarrassment and shock, hoping that no one was able to see them. "We could make this work, Rick. We had something good going before. Why throw all of that away?"

"Did you realize that before or after you cheated on me with Phillip?" Rick threw back at her. His cheeks were flushed with anger and Michonne could practically feel the tension from where she sat in her car yards away.

"I said I was sorry," Lori said tearfully, wrapping her arms around herself. "How many times do I have to keep apologizing?"

"You don't. Just leave me alone," he barked, storming away to his truck that was parked just at the edge of the field. He slammed the door and nearly burned his tires as he drove out of the parking lot, leaving a dust cloud of dirt.

Lori caught Michonne's eye, her face turning hard with the realization that the new girl saw the last few moments between her and Rick. Michonne quickly averted her gaze, deciding to concentrate on starting her car and away from any potential drama at her new high school.

Except her car wouldn't start. No matter how many times she tried to turn the engine, it wouldn't turn over. At last, it started but then sputtered and shut off completely.

Lori smirked in satisfaction. She flipped her hair before she sauntered away, and pretended as if she didn't see the new girl's troubles at all.

Michonne groaned in frustration as she leaned her head back against the headrest, her hands running over her face. Of all things to happen, this had to be one of them.

She did a quick mental list of who she could call for help. Her father was out of town on business and her mother was teaching an evening class down at the university. She could call and say it was an emergency, she figured, but it would still take her mother a while to fight the traffic and make the trek out of the city.

An idea popped into her head and she could kick herself for not thinking of it at first.

She scrolled until she found the number in her phone, glad that they had exchanged numbers during a study session for their first exam of the school year.

Her finger nervously tapped against the steering wheel as the line rung and she waited for an answer.

His voice rang in her ear causing her heart to beat wildly, a reaction that seemed to appear more these days whenever she heard it.

"Hi, Rick. I was wondering if I could get your help with something."

"And you're sure everything is fine?" Michonne questioned, her eyebrows raised in concern. She stood in the garage of Dixon's Auto Shop, Rick stood just inches away from her. He had just finished looking over her car, having immediately sprung into action after receiving her phone call not long after he had left the school.

Rick chuckled with amusement. "It's nothing that a simple oil change won't fix," he answered, closing the hood of her car. "We'll fix it tomorrow and you'll have it back by evening."

"Good," she sighed, giving him a grateful smile. "I really appreciate this, Rick. How much do I owe you?"

He smiled as he leaned against the car, his arms folded with a sparkle in his eye. Her eyes took in the image of him, her breath nearly catching at the sight of his handsome face. She had noticed it before, but something had switched within her recently.

She noticed the way his cheeks dimpled whenever he smiled and how his pretty blue eyes seemed to light up whenever he did. His brown curls were a little on the long side since he was neglecting a haircut for some reason, but she still wanted to run her fingers through the silky smooth strands. He was wearing an old pair of battered black jeans and a dirty t-shirt but he still looked good. Really good.

He seemed so much happier in her presence than he did while in Lori's.

"Dinner," he answered quickly. "And a study session for Ms. Peletier's exam next week."

"As if you don't already have that exam in the bag," she smirked.

"I could use a little guidance," he shrugged nonchalantly. He always made it seem like he wasn't as smart as Michonne saw him. "Sounds like a deal?"

She paused, thinking of what Sasha said earlier. She smiled. "How about we order from Rhee's Pizzeria?"

They decided to have the pizza delivered to the shop instead of heading out to the restaurant. Michonne's mother would be by to pick her up at any moment and they didn't want to miss her. Rick set up the table for them in the waiting area of the shop, his body fueled with nervousness as he tried to make sure it was good enough for the beautiful girl standing not too far away from him.

Within thirty minutes, the pizza had arrived. They situated themselves at the table, the box of half pepperoni, half cheese pizza between them along with two styrofoam cups and a liter of Pepsi. The sun was setting right outside of the window, casting a reddish orange glow across the rolling fields of farmland that surrounded them. They laughed and talked about everything - school, Rick's job, their interests and dislikes- and they both realized that an easiness fell between them, as if they were old friends and they had known each other for years.

They also noticed the attraction that began to pull at both of their collars.

His eyes lingered on her for a few seconds longer than they usually did, a small smile on his face as he took in her beautiful facial features. Her full lips, those pretty brown eyes and her skin that glowed underneath the sunset. It was like looking at an angel in person, a comparison that he knew would make her blush had he decided to tell her out loud.

She couldn't keep her gaze from off of his lips and she caught herself staring more than a few times. She would quickly avert her gaze, only to find something else on him to mesmerize about.

"So no dance for you tonight. Didn't have a date or anything?" he asked, his curious eyes still on her as he took a sip of his drink.

She shrugged as she fiddled with the leftover crust of her pizza. "Didn't want to go. I guess homecoming is a really big deal down here, huh?"

"Yeah, kinda," he chuckled. She loved the sound of it.

"Then why didn't you go?" she asked softly. She thought back to the scene between him and Lori back at the school, wondering if that had anything to do with it.

He sighed, leaning back against his chair. "Not really my thing either. The last time I went to a school dance it…. Didn't turn out well." A note of disappointment and sadness had entered his voice and she wrinkled her eyebrows in response.

"Did it involve Lori?" she asked carefully, hoping that she wasn't overstepping her boundaries.

He didn't mind. He nodded. "End of the year dance last year. I found her with Philip Blake." Michonne winced at the sad smirk he gave her. "She had been acting distant for a couple of weeks and I realized then why."

"I'm sorry," she offered.

He dismissed it. "I'm better off without her. I just tolerate her now. Kinda like how you do with Terry," he laughed.

She rolled her eyes but joined along with his laughter. "Tolerate is the nice way to put it."

"You gotta give it to him, at least the guy is persistent."

"He's only worried about his image," she remarked, wiping her hands on a napkin. "A lot of people are like that on my side of town- only worried about what people see them as instead of who they really are."

"You're not like that," he stated, his eyes nearly burning a hole through hers. "You're different from a lot of the girls around here."

Michonne nervously toyed with the napkin.

"Is that a bad thing?" she questioned.

"Not at all," he answered genuinely.

He reached out to place his hand over hers, the contact causing her nervousness to break to the surface immediately. He felt warm and comforting and, much like this small town, he felt like home. She didn't know what was coming over her but she enjoyed being in his presence and she yearned for more moments like this.

"Rick," she whispered, her head swimming. The moment was moving fast and she wasn't sure if she could keep up.

"I like you," he blurted out. "Since that first day you walked into Ms. Peletier's class. Can we at least give this a try? Get to know each other better?"

One glance into his eyes and her mind cleared, all doubts and uncertainties gone within a second. She didn't want to worry about any drama that their potential relationship would cause; she just wanted to get to know him better. This was their junior year after all, why not enjoy it?

She smiled her response causing him to sigh in relief. "Yes. I would like that."


	3. Chapter 3

With chapter three, **cranesinthesky** is back to give us more Rick and Michonne goodness. Not only do they explore and discover things about themselves, someone comes to the realization that the King County sky doesn't have to be the limit.

Be sure to check out her other stories on her FF page

 **-We're The Ones Who Write**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Having Perhaps The Better Claim**

 _May_

"I need a job for the summer," Michonne said matter of factly to Sasha as they secured their spot at the lunch table in the corner of the cafeteria. Their junior year was coming to an end, signaling the beginning of their summer break in just a few short weeks.

Sasha's eyebrows jumped with excitement at the statement. "Work with me at the pool! We have one more spot left for lifeguard. Plus," she leaned in closer to Michonne, lowering her voice even though the cafeteria was full and noisy. "It will keep Rosita from trying to apply. Lord knows I've seen enough of her this year."

Michonne sighed. "My mother supposedly has a position at the university lined up for me.I'm trying to convince her to let me do my own thing, maybe get a job here in town." She thought back to the conversation she had with her mother during breakfast that morning. How her mother was so determined for her to take the job so she could spend some time with her only child before the upcoming busy senior year started. It was a nice sentiment, but Michonne knew that there was another alterior motive that her mother was trying to keep her from.

Rick Grimes.

Ms. Renaud wasn't the biggest fan of Rick, the boy who had captured her daughter's attention- and heart- over the past seven months. In fact, she thought that Michonne could do better. Better, as in Terry Williams who lived down the street from them in their upscale neighborhood. He had his future already lined up- Princeton for undergrad, Wharton for his MBA right after, and then maybe Harvard for his law degree. With his charisma, confidence and intellect, he was a perfect fit for her daughter but, unfortunately, Michonne didn't see it the same way that she did.

Rick didn't know what the future held for him, so he tried to just go with the flow and that's what scared Ms. Renaud. She didn't want for her daughter to be set up with disappointment. The divorce was hard enough for Michonne and she didn't want to see her heartbroken over a guy who failed to know what he wanted.

"See if you can talk her into it," Sasha commented, taking a sip of her water. "You know you can talk your way out of everything. I swear, you'll make a great lawyer someday."

Michonne laughed. "Now you know she's a lot smarter than me and wouldn't let that slide."

Sasha shrugged. "You never know."

Michonne thought about it for a few seconds but was quickly interrupted when her eyes fell on Rick across the room. He had just walked into the cafeteria with Daryl, chatting away. He sensed her, his gaze immediately finding hers in the roomful of people. He smiled, those dimpled cheeks causing her heart to beat wildly in her chest as it always did whenever she thought of him or saw him.

She was falling for him, she knew it. Even through all of the unnecessary stress she put herself through with school work and preparing for the SAT's and college applications, he still found a way to make her day better. She had began to realize that he wasn't at all what her mother thought he was; no, he was much more than that and much more of a man than Terry could ever dream of being.

"The mechanic shop isn't that far from the community pool," Sasha attempted, noticing her friend's gaze. "Just throwing that out there."

Michonne nodded, catching on to her friend's suggestion. She smiled. She knew what she had to do. "I'll talk with my mom."

Michonne moaned as she wrapped her arms around Rick tighter, his lips locked on hers in a passionate kiss. She ran her fingers through his curls while his hands ran up her sides, the sensation causing a chill to run up her spine. She loved the feel of him, loved the taste of him and she felt like she couldn't get enough.

She climbed into his lap, knocking their textbooks down on the floor in the process. What was supposed to be an exam study session in her living room turned into a full on make out session, the day having been long and hard for both of them. They needed a release, a break from the stress of both home life and school, and this is what would solve it.

Rick's hand made their way down to her ass, rubbing and grabbing her cheeks through the jeans that she wore. Michonne let out a shaky breath as she rocked against him, gasping in surprise when she felt the bulge beneath his own pair of jeans. She felt a pressure and eagerness rise inside of her, a signal that she was ready for something more.

"Rick," she sighed before pulling his lips back to hers for another kiss. Their tongues dueled each other and she melted in his arms, right in the place where she was supposed to be.

"I'm ready," she whispered to him, her eyes on his clouded baby blues.

His eyebrows wrinkled, making sure that she was saying what he thought she was saying. "Are you sure?" he asked in a low voice. "I don't want to rush you."

"You're not," she shook her head. Her hands slipped down his shirt, her nervous, shaking fingers attempting to undo each button of the blue button down shirt. "You're the person that I want to be with."

He stared at her again, searching her face as she continued to undo the buttons. He could tell that she was serious and he wanted this more than anything, but something felt… off.

He placed his hand over hers, stopping her task. "Not yet," he replied gently, begging her to understand before he finished. "Not _here,"_ he emphasized. He glanced around the living room. "This isn't exactly the place where I pictured our first time would be. Not when your mother can walk in on us in any moment."

She wanted to argue with him, tell him that her mother was out for a girls' night and would be gone for a while, but she knew that he was right. It wasn't exactly what she had in mind either for the both of them.

She grinned in realization. "You've thought about this before."

"I have," he nodded, returning her grin.

She tilted her head, curious. "So.. how did you imagine it?"

"Well," he said, resting his back against the arm of the sofa. She was still on his lap and he kept her hand in his, his thumb massaging hers. "I was just thinking that it would be a little bit more romantic than this. No interruptions. Just you and me someplace serene. Where our worries wouldn't follow us."

His face fell then, his gaze averting away from her. She knew what he was thinking. He was thinking about his parents, his mother in particular, since her troubles seemed to have followed her home over the past couple of weeks. The burden was put on Rick's shoulders, a lot for a teenage boy trying to make it in this world.

"Just not like this," he finished, looking back at her. He pulled her fingers to his mouth and kissed them, grateful for this strong young woman that had stood by him through everything. "One day."

"One day," she agreed. She hoped that day was soon.

They both grew quiet, the only sound around them was the clock ticking on the wall. Rick glanced at the time on his cell phone and an idea suddenly sparked in his mind. He turned to her, a mischievous smile on his face causing her to frown in confusion.

He may not have been able to give her what they both wanted tonight, but he promised that he would give her the best night of her life in another form.

Within twenty minutes, they were at the community pool. It was dark out so the pool was technically closed and the gate was locked, but Rick found a way for them to get in through a secret entrance around back.

"Daryl and I used to sneak in when we were kids," he explained to Michonne as they made their way to the poolside.

"I'm glad that he was your first in that regard," she scoffed jokingly, laughing when he threw an arm around her. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked, concern and worry starting to build up inside of her. Breaking and entering wasn't exactly on her list of things to do.

"We'll be fine," he assured her, kissing her on the temple. "Live a little, Chonne. Do something out of the ordinary just this one time."

He stopped to take off his shirt and then his boots and jeans, leaving him only in his boxers. Michonne's breath caught, her eyes roaming over the beautiful sight of his body. This was torture after what they had just decided.

He nodded at her, his hands on his hips and a smile on his face. "Your turn."

She removed her clothes as well, everything except her bra and panties. She watched as he looked at her with satisfaction and she could practically see the wheels of regret turning in his head.

Deciding to take a risk and break the doubts, she jumped in, splashing him with water. He jumped in after her, pulling her towards him once he came back up for air. She wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her forehead against his and placing a kiss on his nose. His eyes. His cheeks and then his neck.

"We're supposed to take our minds off of sex, not on it," he remarked amusingly as she continued to kiss him.

"Swimming partially naked was your idea," she reminded him. "If anything, you started it back up again." She chuckled. "For someone as smart as you, you could have thought about a better plan."

"I wanted you to remember this when you go off to college next year. So you'll have something to remember me by."

She paused. "You sound as if we'd be saying goodbye forever."

He shrugged, careful to choose his next set of words. "You'll go off to some ivy league school and I'll be here."

"In college?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, sensing the mood change in the air. He dropped his hands to her waist. "It wasn't exactly on my mind."

"It should be," she said in a serious tone. "Rick, you're smart enough to get into any school you want. All you have to do is take the SAT's and fill out the applications. I guarantee you'll get in."

He was already shaking his head before she could finish her sentence. "Not me," he said, his accent coming out full force.

"Why not? " she prodded. "You can do it. If it's something that you wanted."

"It wasn't something that I wanted before," he confessed, pushing his fingers through his hair. "I don't have the best background and colleges aren't really looking for that."

He paused, looking down at the water that surrounded them then back at her. "You have to respect that. I don't see that for myself. At least, not right now."

She sighed, defeated, but nodded anyway. If this was what he wanted than she would oblige… for now. But she would make it a point later on down the line to show him just how much his future held if he gave it a chance. "Okay."


	4. Chapter 4

The fourth chapter is brought to you **Winterscorpion**. The summer is here and things are heating up for both Rick and Michonne in more ways than one. **Winterscorpion** brings the drama for this chapter that will leave you on the edge of your seat and yearning for more.

Be sure to check out her other story on her FF page.

 **-We're The Ones Who Write**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 4: HOW WAY LEADS ON TO WAY**

 _THE DEAD HEAT OF AUGUST_

SPLASH!

"Hey you kids! No jumping off the shallow end," Michonne yelled at the rambunctious bunch of tweens from her lifeguard's perch, "I don't want to have to ban your behinds… again."

"Oh come on Miss Chonne," Lenny, the ginger headed ringleader whined, "You can't ban us from the pool…in the dead of summer! I'd melt away!" His not quite maturing voice cracked under the whine.

"Melt? Boy I'm surprised your little red tail hasn't spontaneously burst into flames already," Sasha retorted before throwing a beach ball back into the water.

"You know that ain't right Sasha," the freckle faced boy returned, not in the least bit perturbed by the ginger hate he was receiving, "You know my future nieces and nephews gon' be just as red as me so maybe you should worry 'bout them sp… spon… sporatiously burnin' up."

"Boy, if you don't go find a seat somewhere," Sasha rolled her eyes making a point of ignoring the youngin's quip about whatever future familial ties she'd have because of her erratic relationship with his big brother. She walked over to him with her best menacing look slowly stalking him like a tiger with her hands reached out in tickle formation. The boy took off like a shot bringing his small crew of young friends laughing behind him over to the deep end of the pool.

"Lenny! No running so close to the pool," she yelled after his retreating sunburnt back. Sasha shook her head and turned to climb the ladder to join Michonne, "I don't even know what I'm worried about," she said as she took her seat on the platform, "His big red head is so hard if he fell the only thing that would be cracked would be the pavement."

Michonne snickered at her friend while keeping an eagle eye on the pools in her jurisdiction. She and Sasha had proven themselves earlier in the summer to the Lifeguard Captain, Jesus, when they both handled a group of rowdy out of towners that thought the small town country pools were easy pickings. Jesus let off some well-timed roundhouse kicks, Sasha some brute force punches and Michonne thought fast, calling the cops right before joining the fray with a few well-placed groin kicks of her own. The whole event ended with Michonne and Sasha having their pick of shifts for the rest of the summer and the full respect of every bystander at the pools that day. They mostly chose the main pool with one of the 3 wading pools to avoid having to deal with the screaming cacophony hell that were the site's kiddie pools on the other side of the facility.

"What are you over there giggling about," Sasha said, "Don't think I'm finished with you. Just because you get to be _Miss Chonne_ and I'm just Sasha round here don't mean that you're not going to finish telling me how you're going to tell him."

"And when were you going to tell me you and Abe got back together," Michonne replied expertly dodging her friend's inquisitive questioning, "From the sounds of it y'all have skipped to the altar and already at the family planning stage."

"Pssshhh, if I were you Chonne, I'd do the same as I do Lenny's big brother… ignore the bullshit coming out of that child's mouth," Sasha came back, "Evasion is not gonna work for you today. How. Are. You. Going. To. Tell. Rick."

Michonne sighed at the mention of her boyfriend's name. "He hasn't even been accepted yet Sasha. Maybe I won't need to tell him anything."

"Yeah, maybe, but you're going to wait until he gets some random college acceptance letter… From a college that he won't remember applying to because … wait for it," Sasha paused for her usual dramatic effect, "He NEVER applied to them in the first place."

Michonne gazed out to watch the ripples in the sparkling clear waters of the pool, noting the iridescent sheen covering the top in various spots. She'd have to tell the pool maintenance guys to adjust the chlorine on the overnight to take care of mixture of sunblock and god knows whatever was causing the slick pockets of oily residue on the pools. She scoffed at herself, even her own mind was trying to evade Sasha's questioning.

She knew that she didn't have a plan in mind yet. She was just going on a hope and a prayer at this point that her stubborn boyfriend would see that she was trying to do what was best for him. It had been hard enough getting him to even take the SAT's back in their junior year. She just couldn't see how he didn't see his own potential. The potential that both she and Miss Peletier saw bursting at the seams from his thought provoking essays to him actually beating her own very high SAT score. His self-deprecation was so instilled in him for so long by not only his community but his domestic life that the only future he saw was one where Michonne left him to go on to do great things. Meanwhile, he had resigned himself to being the bad boy townie mechanic that would live and die on the wrong side of the tracks.

Nope, not today Satan, was Michonne's response to his bleak outlook. She knew he thought she was too good for him. It went unsaid that the pedestal he had her up on was so high as to cause a nosebleed. It didn't help that her mother's dismissive attitude towards him and their relationship in general showed its ugly face every time he came by to their home to pick Michonne up for a date or to hang out quietly in their den. Snide remarks were part and parcel for her mother's treatment of Rick. Referring to Rick's truck as the "Hillbillymobile" and then following up with a supposedly happenstance remark about Terry's smooth and _silent_ Audi parked a few houses away. "Won't hear that car coming from eight miles away," was the last straw that made Michonne clap back with "Yeah but you can hear Terry bragging about it from ten. So there's that."

Rick took Michonne's mother's derisiveness in stride as he'd done with everyone else he encountered in his short life. He was just happy to be able to bask in Michonne's shine while he had her. He'd have put up with anything short of her mother barring him from their premises to be able to see his girl for any amount of time. The pride he felt being able to say he had her on and by his side was worth it. He even thought she felt a little bit of pride of her own when he'd look down at her during one of their increasingly heavy make out sessions and saw not only desire in her eyes but the same adoration he knew his eyes reflected back at her.

That same adoration that made her, unbeknownst to him, hatch a plan with her teacher, Rick's only other cheerleader, to fill out all the college applications she had in duplicate. Miss Peletier went so far as to not only write her own glowing recommendation but wrangled several from her fellow staff members and even a begrudging one from Principal Horvath. The teacher even had the stroke of genius to supply one of Rick's short stories in lieu of the personal essay that each application required knowing the semi-autobiographical prose showcased not only the young man's talent but also showed his spirit. A spirit and mind that any university "would count themselves lucky to have amongst their student body".

Michonne knew she would have to tell him eventually but she also didn't want to risk what she had dubbed in her mind as "the perfect summer" with him either. Even after the debacle of getting her mother to agree to let her work at the pools instead of with her at the college for the summer, she knew that her summer days spent watching the waters and summer nights spent with Rick would go down as one of those "best days of your life" times she heard about constantly. Their daily routine started from her first day at the pools where he'd meet her when her shift ended and go to the local pizzeria to hang out with their friends or take a short drive to the train tracks that divided their town to be alone. They saw each other every day and instead of the pall of boredom falling on them, like Michonne's mother hoped, every day spent together brought them closer.

Those secluded drives were also bringing them closer to another inevitable turning point in their relationship. They both knew that with each little moan that they brought out of each other from the backseat of Rick's truck… with every tentative caress as they slowly rounded the bases on Michonne's den couch… with every cold shower they each had to take after another day of putting off the inevitable they were approaching a pinnacle that they both fantasized and consciously awaited. Like Christmas morning to an anxious toddler, they both knew Santa was coming but they had to stay off the naughty list. For Rick that meant not rushing what he saw as the ultimate prize that he had to earn. For Michonne that meant putting up with Rick's steadfast southern gentleman mentality and his "one day" to finally come. A day that would most likely be postponed to the unforeseeable future once she finally admitted to him what she had done. She grimaced at this "first world teenage angst" problem of having her awesome boyfriend's chivalry become a roadblock to her desires. Suddenly, a cackle cut through her revelries and generic poolside noise.

"Ooohh sweet Black baby Jesus," Sasha breathed out, "Is that…"

"Damn," Michonne turned to the source of the piercing distraction, "It sure is."

Michonne had only the briefest encounters with her, but she definitely recognized Rick's mother clad in a bikini meant for a younger, more nubile body hanging on the arm of the town's other notorious drunk, Merle Dixon. From the sound of her laughter and the few stumbling footsteps she took Michonne could tell that his mother was on one of her benders. Being with Merle, she could only surmise that it probably wasn't only cheap whisky that had her trying to shimmy to the music that played over the pool's sound system.

"Shit," Michonne uttered as she made her way down the ladder to get over to the couple that had begun to gyrate obscenely to the Santana guitar riff of "Wild Thoughts". She tried to make her way over to them quickly, noting that cell phone cameras were already out. She hoped upon every hope that she could make it on time before anything more embarrassing to Rick could be recorded and sent out into the ether of the internet or worse, directly to Rick himself.

She almost halted in her mission when she saw Lori and her clique already on high bitch alert giggling and recording from their cabana. Michonne subconsciously shook her head at the unfortunate reality that even the town's pool had a dividing line between social classes. The rich got prime status with several cabanas on one side while the general public had to make do with towels on the grass or the lounge chairs that went like hot cakes on Sunday mornings during the after church breakfast rush at the local diner. Her read on Lori 's entire ass had to wait though because Merle had just begun to bump and grind on Rick's mother's behind and that spectacle had to be stopped at all costs.

"Erm… Mrs. Grimes," Michonne said approaching the couple like a lion tamer approaching a particularly skittish feline, "Mrs. Grimes… MRS. GRIMES!" Michonne got louder with every intonation of the woman's name.

"Wha…who the hell is… oh hi there Mi—Michaela," the woman stared up glassy eyed, finally cognizant that someone was calling her out, "The name's Jessie. Mrs. Grimes is dead and laughing in hell right now." She guffawed at her own bad joke while Michonne closed her eyes and counted to ten.

"You know this gal," Merle's lascivious leer down Michonne's body in her red lifeguard swimsuit did not endear him any more than the sleeveless confederate flag adorned t-shirt he was sporting.

"Sorta baby… if my boy thought enougha me to actually introduce her the last time she was over," she sniffed, "He usually makes her stay outside in his truck if he thinks I'm home."

Michonne's eyes widened in surprise as that was precisely what Rick did whenever they ventured to his small house on the outskirts of town. "I'll be in and out baby. No reason for you to have to get out," was his usual response when she made to leave the vehicle. She always wanted to tell him she didn't care about the state of his house but the more she got to know him she realized it wasn't the house but the people in it that he was shielding her from. Exhibit A was in front of her, with speech slurred to be damned and looking just this side of road kill with a Confederate Possum sidepiece.

"It's Michonne actually Mrs. Grimes," Michonne summoned all her patience to deal with the woman, "And I was just wondering if you wanted to come with me inside for a bottle of water."

"Well, Michooonnnne," the older woman drew out her name in mock snobbery, "As you can see, we got us all we need to drank right here," she said pointing to the half empty six pack beer carton on the ground nearby.

"Well alcohol and glass bottles are prohibited here," Sasha had finally caught up to them, "So you're going to have enjoy your drinks elsewhere or come inside like my colleague said."

"Oh, well ain't they uppity," Merle sneered out, "And you mean to tell me that your Ricky boy got him a taste for Nubian princesses? Well I'll be damned."

Sasha and Michonne were already done at uppity, but Rick's name flying out of the man's mouth was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Sasha got on her walkie for backup security and positioned herself into fighting stance for Merle while Michonne put a firm hand around Rick's mother's forearm to lead her away.

"Get your hands offa me," Jessie yelled, "You think just cuz you have my boy wrapped around your little finger…! Got him thankin' he's someone special …you have the right to boss me around?"

"I'm sorry Mrs. Grimes, I'm just trying to help you out," Michonne pleaded quietly as she struggled to get the woman to calm down.

"Help me," Jessie scoffed, "Like you trying to help my boy leave me by myself? Think I don't know about you and his plans? I may not be all smart like you all but I can read!"

Michonne stood aghast at the woman's outburst, bewildered at each statement coming from his mother's mouth coupled with the stench of old liquor fumes.

"I seen it! I seen the big ol' thick envelope come in the mail just today," Rick's mother continued on her rant, "Some fancy college name all over it. Y'all think I don't know he's tryin' ta leave me like his no good daddy!"

Fuuuuckk was the collective thought that went through both Sasha and Michonne's minds. Time officially froze when they both heard the questioning words, "Mama? Mama what are you doin' here?"

Rick had a sheen of sweat from running the four blocks straight to the pools, having decided that driving from the mechanic shop would have taken too long. Normally he would have ignored a text from Lori but his screen had shown it was a video message and the preview picture showing his mother in the same vicinity as Michonne set a fire under his ass to get there as soon as possible.

Jessie turned at the sound of her son's voice and visibly crumbled at the sight of him, "Baby! Baby why you want to leave your mama baby? Huh baby? Why? You said I was the only one you'd stay for and help. What am I gonna do without you baby?"

"Mama," Rick pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to calm his mother down, "Ain't nobody tryna leave you. But Imma need to know what you're doin' here, with _him_." Rick couldn't hold the disgust out of his voice when he referred to Merle's presence. He knew that Merle's younger brother Daryl was probably on his way right behind Rick so he didn't think he had to worry about him.

"Well what it look like Ricky boy," Merle made the mistake of addressing Rick directly, "Jessie May here came by to holler at me, said she was celebratin' her boy getting into college! As you know, I got me a soft spot for ol' blondie here so I obliged her."

Rick ground his teeth and kept his ice cold blue stare on his mother, "Mama I'd like to take you outta here. Now please."

Jessie recognized the firm tone that Rick used when he was either holding her hair back while she got rid of whatever liquor she had stuffed her body with or when he had to come pick her up from the local watering hole where she had passed out on numerous occasions. She knew it would do her no good to fight him. She still looked at him pleadingly as she took a small step toward him but the imperceptible shake of his head told her not to get much closer. The look he gave her made her divert her way to her ratty beach bag to gather her things and await further instructions from her son.

Daryl came running in with two security staff to the awkward standoff and skidded to a halt next to Rick. He took note of his shit for brains older brother and Rick's mother and already knew the story without having to ask. Rick felt Daryl next to him and only held his hand out without a word. Daryl placed his car keys into it.

"Let's go Mama," Rick said as he took off the uniform shirt he wore and put it over her shoulders, "Let's get you home."

Michonne and Sasha stood in silence along with half of the town that was at the pool as Rick turned without so much as a glance at his girlfriend.

"Rick," Michonne whispered quietly.

He stopped instantly but didn't turn to look back. All she could see was the red rising from under his white t-shirt to his stiffened neck.

"Later," was all he said in response and walked his stumbling mother past the small crowd. Past the stares and whispered snickers with his back straight and head held high daring the world to utter something loud enough for him to hear.

"C'mon man," Daryl shoved his brother roughly in front of him, "Wait 'til Pa sees your sorry ass."

"Ah man, come on why we gotta go to the garage for," Merle whined sounding like a boy half his age.

"Because that's where my bike is and I don't trust ya to get home safe, high as you are right now," Daryl mumbled as they made their way out. He turned to give Michonne and Sasha an apologetic nod and shoved Merle again to make a hastier retreat.

"Alright, show's over," Sasha turned to the assorted crowd that had gathered, "And you, Low Budget Kim K, hand it over," she said as she marched over to Lori's cabana.

"Hand what over Sasha," Lori flipped her sunglasses down from their perch on top of her head, "I know you don't mean my phone."

"Ding, ding, ding! You do understand the words coming out of my mouth," Sasha stood her ground with her hand out, "You don't want me to have to _take it_ from you. Please Lori, _make me take it._ " Michonne didn't need to have x-ray vision to know a flash of fear was behind those big dark lenses of Lori's when she took all of three seconds to hand over her phone.

"You spiteful bitch, you already sent the video out to a whole WhatsApp group," Sasha exclaimed, "What is _wrong_ with you?"

Michonne couldn't control the rage that had spiked through her when she stalked over to Lori, practically blinded by it. It took Sasha and the two security guys all they had in them to hold her back from ripping every single wavy curl out of Lori's head.

"You girls get out of here," Jesus had 1arrived and assessed the situation in the blink of an eye, "Like Sasha said show's over."

"You can't kick me out of here. My daddy will have all of your asses fired by morning," Lori screamed indignantly.

"Well we ain't fired today," Jesus retorted, "So go on and get. Oh and Lori, make sure you let your Daddy know that if he needs to talk to me that I've got some very interesting security cam video from a few nights ago. A couple of night trespassers. Some girls skinny dipping, smoking some funny looking cigarettes with a few very older looking dudes. You know anything about that? Think he'd be interested in that too? Since he'll be in the firin' mood?"

Lori froze mid-rant. She turned on her heel to her friends, started gathering up her stuff, and made a show of being righteously indignant as they hustled their way out.

"I knew splurgin' for night vision security cams would be money well spent," Jesus chuckled before he turned to his favorite team, "You guys ok?"

Sasha spoke for them both, "Nothing we couldn't handle Cap."

Michonne tried to control her rapid breathing, counting up to forty before she felt her pulse calm down and the rage subsided.

"Yeah I know. Nothing my dream team can't handle," Jesus replied, "Michonne, you … want to clock out a little early? To handle the rest of your business?"

After a beat Michonne answered, "No," she sighed, "I'm going to finish my shift Cap, if that's ok with you."

Sasha looked at her friend and again answered for them both, "We got this Jesus. You can head on back in and we'll see you at clock out time."

Jesus took one last look at Michonne and figured it was ok to leave her be. He knew that she was a normally even-tempered person so there was no way that she'd let this event rile her up enough not to get the job done. He was always impressed with the young woman who always had her shit together and had no doubt that the rest of the day would be fine now that the general riff raff had dispersed.

Michonne turned and walked silently back to the ladder that lead to her lifeguard post. Sasha followed just as quietly behind but not before glaring at anybody brave enough to make eye contact her, silently daring them to challenge her with one more bit of trouble. Not one person rose to the challenge, choosing instead to get back to the business of enjoying the rest of their sunny time at the pool.

"Man, I better tell Abe to come get Sasha later," Lenny observed quietly, "She's gonna be on a rampage and he loves that girl when she's riled up."

The music continued to play over the sound system and the happy splashing sound of summer fun continued around Michonne as she sat and wondered if the routine so long established would hold and her boyfriend would be waiting for her like he always did when her shift ended.


	5. Chapter 5

You always find yourself smiling while reading **Winterscorpion** works and chapter five is no different. She brings the sweet heat in chapter five with Rick and Michonne that will have you breathless.

Please be sure to check out her story on her FF page.

 **-We're The Ones Who Write**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 5: TELLING THIS WITH A SIGH**

 _SAME HOT AUGUST NIGHT_

"Erm… so call me later ok Mich," Sasha said not expecting a response from Michonne who had not spoken a word for the last two hours of their shift. They had packed up their stuff, showered and changed in silence in the locker rooms reserved for the staff in eerie silence. Sasha knew with every hesitant step toward the back entrance to the parking lot Michonne was hoping that Rick was going to be out there in his usual spot. Sasha helped her friend again as she paused at the double metal doors and made a silent wish when she pushed the lever to get the doors open.

The audible breath of relief issued from both young women when there he stood, leaning on the side of his truck, one foot on the side panel of the driver's side with his head down still in the white t-shirt and grease smeared jeans from earlier in the day. He didn't look up from his stance but a slight stiffening in his posture alerted Michonne that he knew she was headed toward him. She turned and gave a small wave to Sasha who mouthed a silent "Good Luck" before walking to her own car.

Michonne steeled herself for the inevitable confrontation and had everything she wanted to say memorized in her head as she walked up to Rick's slouching form. Before she could utter a word however, he looked up the moment she was within a foot of him and everything she wanted to say flew right out of her mind. The laser focus of his cerulean stare didn't hold the anger she had armored herself for. Instead she was caught off balanced with his red rimmed eyes and tears that had been shed and were filling up again even as she stood there.

"Oh baby," she ran the short way into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him down to her shoulder. Rick shuddered as he returned her embrace letting the tears flow from him. Tears of shame at Michonne having finally met the woman who had brought him into this world. Tears of anger that he couldn't have prevented the clash of his two worlds. Tears of fear that everything good in him was in his arms and all that good he felt he didn't rightly deserve.

Michonne, that overwhelmingly good thing in his life, simply cooed him to calmness.

"Shhhh, baby," she said softly while she caressed the back of his head full of the curls she loved to run her fingers through, "Just let it out. Let it all out." Michonne knew better than to tell him everything would be ok. She had always hated when people said that knowing damn well they couldn't tell the future. Who knew if it would be ok? Who knew if his mother would be anything remotely close to ok? Michonne was nothing if not pragmatic and she also knew telling him something as trite and meaningless as that would result in nothing but disbelief.

After Rick had poured his soul out through his tears onto Michonne's damp shoulder, he took stock of himself and stood up straight. He took her firmly by the hips and moved her back from him, placing his forehead onto hers. They stood silently with their eyes closed; breathing each other's air for a few minutes.

"Will you… Do you want take a ride with me," Rick's voice betrayed some of the trepidation he had tried not to let show if she responded negatively. He wouldn't blame her in the least if she had made a bee line for her own car and fully avoided him when she first came out. His hopes flew up into his heart from his stomach where they had lay in wait to be dashed before she came up to him and put her slender arms around him. He just knew that after seeing his true background, what made him who he was, she would go running from him with a grateful nod to the fates that she could finally be rid of the white trash she had let into her life. But no, not _his_ girl. She met him head on and held him and stood there and _asked_ for his pain. Asked him to let go of it all while she stood fast to receive it. He would never forget that moment of release she gifted to him. No matter what the future held.

"Yes, of course," Michonne didn't hesitate giving him one last squeeze around his neck before she made her way around the truck to the passenger side. She noted the back of his truck bed had it's cover on but figured he probably had car parts from his job that he didn't want exposed to the hot August sun. Rick had gotten in by the time she got over to the door and leaned over to open it for her from the inside. She stood on the foot baseboard to hop in only to falter slightly when she saw the large envelope with a university logo embossed on the label. Rick noted her hesitation and took the envelope from the seat, putting it onto the dashboard and waited for her to situate herself comfortably.

He started the truck and pulled out of the parking lot while she stared straight ahead and mentally prepared herself to begin her speech.

Again he headed her off at the pass, "I know why you did it Michonne. I'm … I'm not mad at you but I just want to know," he started, "How'd you think this was gonna play out? I'm askin' because I really want to know."

"I really don't know how I thought it was going to play out," she answered honestly, "I just knew it was the right thing to do and you weren't going to do it."

He looked over at her quickly before setting his eyes back on the road, "I'm assuming you had help and I know it was probably Miss Peletier but I'm just … I just don't understand how I didn't know. We've spent everyday together. When did you find the time?"

She shook her head at the innocence of his questioning. He seemed more in awe than angry so she took a chance and spilled every bit of her plan to him on the ride. He listened attentively not giving any sort of response in the positive or the negative. He just continued to watch the road as she detailed the course of events that led to him getting an early acceptance letter. He never would have imagined a university that prestigious letting the likes of him mop the floors much less attend as a student. The university that he knew was Michonne's first choice from the many conversations they had about her future plans. The only time he responded with any modicum of emotion was when she got to the part of her applying to _multiple_ prestigious institutions on his behalf. His eyes widened and he turned to her in surprise, "How many Michonne?"

"Well only the same five I applied to," she finished, "Every application I did I had two of them. On the nights you saw me filling a couple out I was actually doing yours. I had already finished mine weeks before."

By this time Rick had turned off onto a dirt side road but Michonne had been so into telling her side of the story, trying to glimpse any sign of retribution from her boyfriend that she didn't notice they were in unfamiliar territory. It was only when he put the truck in park that she became aware of her surroundings. They were parked at a wooden gate, that opened onto another road that split through a lush green field spotted everywhere with all manner of colorful wildflowers. In the distance she could see a sliver of sparkling water that had begun to take up the various colors of the approaching sunset. Rick got out of the vehicle to unlock the gate and got back in to drive through. Michonne remained enthralled by the simple beauty of nature surrounding them as he drove the short distance from the gate to the edge of what she could see was a small lake.

Rick remained silent as he turned off the ignition and pulled the key out of the truck. They sat in the quiet of the truck's cab and although Michonne wanted to ask where they were exactly she still had one more thing to say.

"Look, I know there's no excuse for what I did. Even now I'm looking back and seeing all the times I could have told you or just asked you if this was something that you even wanted," she started, her voice filled with emotion, "I never wanted to hide anything from you but I wanted to show you that you are so much more than you think of yourself. You act as if life has given you no choices. Like you're not good enough to have choices… to have _me_ in your life. I just wanted to show you just a little bit of what I see in you that I wish you saw in yourself."

Her throat started to clench with the raw power of what she felt for the young man sitting beside her. Rick was still staring ahead at the rippling waters of the lake.

"I know you think I'm going to go on and leave you here, and… maybe… we do have to separate and go on without each other," she watched as Rick clenched the steering wheel at her last few words, "But I just wanted you to see that _we_ didn't have to. Not if… not if you had the choice. You don't have to stay here. Isn't going out and trying to make a better life for yourself a better choice and in the long run? One that could even benefit your… your mother. You don't have to be _here_ just to be there for her."

Rick let out a long breath before he turned to her with new tears welling up in his azure eyes. He was determined not to become a blubbering fool until he finally got out what he wanted to say.

Michonne held her own breath while she watched him gather his thoughts.

"I… I know. I know you're right. I know that now," he started when one tear escaped to run down his cheek, "If it's a choice of staying here and going through the same bullshit like what you saw today and going out in the world and tryin' to reorder it to make it work for me… for the two of us. Well… that's a choice I'd like to have. If that's something you wanted."

"Yes, Rick," she looked up shyly at him and took his hand into her small one and brought it up to her lips for a small kiss, "That's something that I want."

Rick leaned in and moved slowly towards her, only his eyes shining with unshed tears of happiness showing the extreme joy that nearly burst his heart wide open at her soft acquiescence. He didn't close them, he wanted her to see everything he couldn't say in his overcome state as he leaned in to place the sweetest kiss he'd ever given in his life on her beautiful lips.

Sweet soft pecks to her mouth turned into feathery kisses on her cheeks as he tasted the salt of the tears that ran down her face. His hand moved from her grasp and found its way to the curve of her neck to bring her even closer. His thumb circled her rapidly beating pulse point and her plush lips parted for his tongue to dip in to meet hers. It was a slow languid kiss that felt like the first time their tongues ever met. Michonne's hands drifted to the back of his neck to nestle in the soft curls she adored as the kiss went on for what felt like time immemorial. They finally broke apart, both sniffling to catch their breath and leaned their foreheads together.

"Well look at us," he murmured eyes finally closed as he breathed in their shared oxygen, "A couple of crybabies. What would Sasha think if she could see us now?"

A small giggle erupted from Michonne, "Well she'd probably tell us to man up," she chuckled, "And then she'd probably punch one or both of us."

"Yeah, you're right about that," he sighed and released his grip on her to sit back in his seat,"You usually are about most things."

She shook her head and looked around, "So, are you going to tell me where we are?"

The impish grin she loved appeared on his face when he answered with his hand on the door handle, "Well hop out and I'll show you."

He jumped out hurriedly and she followed suit going towards the back of the truck to find him pulling the black tarp cover off revealing the truck bed. Michonne gasped at the transformation of the usually filthy truck bed. In place of the random car parts, dead leaves and the detritus that was normally housed there was a full mattress complete with a colorful downy looking duvet, several throw pillows and a picnic basket sitting in the middle.

"Wha… how," Michonne couldn't form words at the sight.

"Well, originally, this was supposed to be a surprise for you, ya know since we didn't get to do a big 18th birthday thing earlier together this summer," he explained, his hand going back to his head and rubbing it nervously, "Since you had to spend it with your dad and all, I was gonna save it for an end of the summer/labor day/back to school thing for us." He knew he was rambling but the stunned look on her beautiful face had him second guessing his plan.

"But now I figured," he started in again, "we have something to properly celebrate that I never thought would be possible." He stepped over to her and pulled her towards him by her hips and said quietly, "We're celebrating me goin' to college."

"Oh Rick," Michonne breathed out and reached up to pull his face down close to hers, kissing him with a hard fervor that blew the sweetness of their earlier kiss from memory. His grip on her hips tightened as he leaned her into the truck's tailgate. She could feel the cool metal of the car through the thin material of the maxi dress she wore in direct conflict to the heat she felt building from her core as Rick pressed her further against it with his entire body leaned into hers. A small moan escaped her when he abandoned her lips to trace his tongue down the side of her neck. He sucked lightly at her pulse point before he made moist circles with his tongue. Her fingers curled into tighter fists at the nape of his neck and tugged at the soft hair that curled there. Rick let out a low growl from deep in his throat and lightly nipped at her bare shoulder.

He was reluctant to stop but he pulled away to take a beat before they got too carried away too soon. Michonne whimpered at the loss of his body heat when he stood back but kept hold of her hip with one hand and disengaged the lock of the tailgate with the other. He stepped backward taking her with him so he could get the tailgate down. In one fell swoop he picked her up and placed her gently on top of the makeshift bed. The firmness of it came as another surprise to Michonne and she looked at him quizzically.

"It's an Aerobed," he answered her unasked question seeing her run her hands over the soft duvet, "Came with an electric pump that is powered through the lighter inside. It's can be used for camping and for the unexpected out of town guests."

Michonne couldn't help but laugh at the veritable commercial he just did for her. His adorable nervousness shined through and it endeared him to her even more.

"Or for making a Hillbillymobile a hotel on wheels," she snickered back effectively lightening the weight of his increasing bashfulness with some levity.

"Yeah, that's what it said on the box," he retorted before he climbed up to join her, "Or for one day."

She grabbed his t-shirt and pulled his body over to cover hers as she leaned back. He hurriedly moved the picnic basket out of the way before her head could collide with it in her haste to get them into prime position.

"Yeah, that one day," she breathed out before bringing his kiss bruised mouth to hers. She sucked his pink bottom lip into her mouth while Rick began to grind into her center with his ever growing hunger to be closer to her. His hands roamed her body fully from her bare shoulders to her slender thighs. He cradled her head in the crook of his elbow, delving deeper into her sweet mouth as his other hand found its way to the hem of her dress. He slowly maneuvered it up until his fingers felt the very edges of her panties. They both stopped kissing to stare into each other's eyes. This was usually the point where Rick's down home manner halted any further action but they both knew that wasn't going to be happening this time around. To further the point, Michonne reached down, took his hand, and moved it inside the front of her moistened underwear.

"Oh my Jesus," Rick groaned out as he began to explore her inner folds and encountered the source of all the moisture. Michonne bit her bottom lip as she felt the heat and the unfamiliar pressure build up from her center. Rick watched her face to make sure if she didn't feel any discomfort. He had done this before for her but he'd never brought her to completion and he needed to give her that bit of heaven before he could even think about the almost painful tightness in his jeans. For everything she was to him and everything they could be he wanted to make sure he gave her as much joy and ecstasy that she gave him from just being with him. He also saw it as a way to prepare her for what was coming. Michonne writhed under his attentions and suddenly went stiff, letting out a moan that was the sexiest thing Rick had ever heard come out of her mouth. She ground herself onto his hands as she rode out the euphoric rollercoaster of her first orgasm.

She opened her eyes to find Rick staring down at her, his eyes the darkest blue she'd ever seen them. She wasted no time and sat up to pull the dress over her head and he near ripped his t-shirt over his. She went for his belt buckle next and had it undone as he knelt before her. Both fully undressed their kisses became sloppy and impassioned. They each tried to get to any patch of skin within their reach. Rick finally grasped Michonne by her throat with gentle firmness that made her moan and lay her back down. He positioned himself between her spread legs and began to rub his manhood against her.

"Baby," he whispered huskily as he softly rubbed his thumb over her sweetheart shaped upper lip, "You ready?"

Michonne answered by pulling his thumb into her mouth and sucked it gently. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as his lower half instinctually rubbed against her apex.

He gave another growl as he positioned himself at her opening and slowly began to enter her. Michonne stopped sucking his thumb and held her breath as she was slowly filled with the very essence of him. He went as slow as he possibly could gauging each inch with her reactions. Michonne's mind and senses swirled with everything centered on this moment. The fullness of him caused some pain and she gritted her teeth as he came closer to the barrier that would be broken forever.

"You still with me baby?" Rick's body had begun to shake under the pressure of the restraint he was using to not buck wildly into her.

"I'm with you Rick," she replied, "I'm still with you." She pulled back as he pushed forward and the completed the connection that had so longed for. They each couldn't tell who was shaking more but their bodies took over after the initial shock of being forever tied together in this one moment. Rick rocked within her as she met him thrust for thrust. No longer feeling any pain, with each meeting of their bodies the pleasure began to build in both of them.

"Oh… my.. god Rick," Michonne bellowed out, "I feel so… so" the tears ran down her face as her mind tried find the words to explain what every sensitive nerve ending was telling her.

"I know baby, I feel it too," Rick groaned as he kissed her sloppily, "I feel you…I feel everything…" Both bodies started to move faster, reaching for the explosion they both felt coming from the center of their beings. Nothing mattered except the two of them in that moment as they rocked together in tandem each seeking to get as close as two humans could get to each other. Rick wanted to live in Michonne for the rest of his life and Michonne never wanted to let him go.

"I … my god! Michonne," Rick's last word was her name as he felt her tense around him and he burst within her. The whole world seemed to stand still as they lay entwined together, their hearts beat against each other and they breathed each other's rapid breaths.

The humid air of August surrounded them as they lay still connected while they exchanged soft kisses in the darkening night. The stars began to pop out when they finally separated and got under the duvet. Rick opened the picnic basket and produced two cups and a bottle of ginger ale as he told her a story about how his father had brought him to the secluded lake to fish on one of infrequent good days . He'd always wanted to show it to Michonne but the timing was never right.

"So you see, there's some really beautiful parts on the other side of the tracks if you know where to look for them," he finished.

Michonne snuggled up next to Rick and couldn't have agreed more.


	6. Chapter 6

The story of our favorite high school couple is continued in this sixth chapter with **thematsaidwelcome** , who navigates the waters of character development like a true ship captain.

Be sure to check out her other works on her FF page.

 **-We're The Ones Who Write**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: And both that morning equally lay**

 _November_

"OMG….Are these what I think they are?" Sasha asked Michonne, shocked by what she found in her drawer.

"Why are you going through my drawer?" Michonne picked up the dress from the foot of her bed and examined it.

"I was looking for a pen so that I could sketch out an idea for my prom dress. I found something else though." Sasha held up the pack of birth control pills and waved them around in the air.

"Okay, you found them, now put them back before you lose em." Recognition came to Sasha's face, then a broad smile.

"You and Rick...when...where? Why didn't you tell me?" Sasha placed the pill pack into the drawer and shut it softly so she wouldn't miss anything Michonne was going to say.

"Which question do you want me to answer first?"

"When?"

"Our first time was the night his mama showed up at the pool last summer."

"Last summer! Michonne, that was months ago. Why haven't you told me?"

"I don't know. I guess, I wanted it to be just for me and Rick, ya know."

"I forgot you're good with secrets."

"It wasn't really a secret... it was just nobody's business." Michonne looked pointedly at Sasha and smiled.

"So you're on the pill, do y'all do it all the time? Eww...do y'all do it on this bed?" Sasha slowly got up and walked over to sit in the desk chair, creeped out by the thoughts running through her head.

"You know you're a whole mess, right?" Michonne picked up another dress, sighing at having to choose one. "So you and Abe haven't?"

"No. He's actually been a real sweetheart about it all now, which is more than I can say for how Bob was."

"You have to wait for the right time, and if he wasn't willing then too bad for him."

"I figure I'll be cliche about it all and give it up on prom night." She took a deep breath and blew it out. "First I have to get over the fear of death with Abe's huge body on top of me."

"I don't think Abe will crush you to death Sasha, but you can always get around that by being on top." Michonne gave her a wink.

"You know, it's always the quiet ones!" Sasha laughed out.

"Just do whatever feels right...when it feels right." She picked up another dress from her bed. "Which one of these should I wear?"

"I can't believe you're even going to this luncheon. A bunch of stuck up over achievers fighting to be valedictorian."

"You know if I didn't have to, I wouldn't be going. I didn't factor in that Terry's mom, would tell my mom about it and she insisted that I go." Michonne placed her hand on her hip to prepare for the impression of her mother. " _It's such a great opportunity Michonne. Think of all the people you'll meet. Terry will be there, can you imagine what the two of you will look like walking in together, talk about a power couple."_

"She's still trying to get you two together? She's not gonna stop until you're Mrs. Terry Montague and y'all are in the wedding section of Jet magazine." Both girls roared with laughter because it was true, Michonne's mother was Terry's biggest fan. He always made a way into her conversation, no matter if she was talking about school or changing the drapes in the dining room. His name always came up and Michonne always tuned her mother out, because to flat out say she wasn't interested always resulted in, " _Is it because of that blue eyed mechanic from the other side of the tracks? He's no good for you and the sooner you realize it, the better."_

"Which one?" She held up a yellow empire waist dress with a flowy skirt and a simple green sheath.

"Go with the yellow one." Sasha answered.

"I'll wear the green one."

"Then why did you ask if you were just gonna wear that green one?"

"Just wanted your opinion." She shrugged her shoulders and held up the yellow dress to her body. "Rick likes me in yellow."

"Then why not wear the yellow one?" Sasha asked a little annoyed at her friend.

"Because he's not gonna be there. Just Terry's tired ass, and a bunch of strangers that I'm supposed to network with. I'm not trying to look good for any of them." She set the dress down and started gathering the other ones to hang back up in her closet.

"Well, luckily it's just one day. Maybe there'll be so many people there that you won't even see Terry."

"Yeah, one really long day."

"Are you driving back that same day? It's a two hour drive right?"

"No, my mom insisted that I stay at the hotel and drive back the next morning."

"She's letting you stay overnight at a hotel by yourself?" Michonne rolled her eyes.

"Only because you know who is also staying. And she has to teach a few classes that day, or she'd be right there with me."

"Wow. I think I'd jump on the bed all night, order food and drop water balloons off the balcony. No adult supervision, I would go wild." Sasha said with a smile, quirking her eyebrows. "Too bad Rick can't come."

"Whatever Sasha. Here," Michonne handed her a pen, "Start drawing your dress and stop thinking about me and Rick."

* * *

Michonne sat at the huge round table that sat ten, looking around at the people filing into the conference room, all seniors in high school from the state, all African American and all there to hear how best to succeed in college. She had just looked to her left to read the name of the person who was sitting next to her, when she heard his voice. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer for strength.

"Talk about luck huh? We get to sit next to each other for this thing."

"Terry...yeah looks like it." He noticed her vexed and bothered expression and decided to try his luck one more time.

"Look Michonne...I know I might come across as sort of…"

"Egotistical. Conceited. Self centered...selfish." She finished for him.

"Maybe one of those." He conceded. "But I'm really having a hard time trying to figure out why you keep rejecting me. I'm in the top ten percent at school, class president, basketball team captain, I drive a sweet whip, live in a great house, my parents have lots of money and I'm guaranteed to go to an Ivy League school that I want. Why do you keep wasting your time with that hillbilly from the other side of the tracks, when you can be with me?"

"Why are you so hung up on me Terry? There's at least ten girls at school, that would give up their Louis Vuitton purse just to date you. Why me?"

"You're smart, beautiful and…." Cutting him off again, Michonne finished for him, not wanting to hear anymore of his voice.

"And I've shown no interest in you from the first time you spoke to me." She took a deep breath to steady her nerves some before continuing. "Terry, as special as you think you are, I'm not buying it. You're top ten, but so is that hillbilly that you just mentioned. Do your parents with all the money know that you drive your sweet whip over to the other side of the tracks to buy weed every week? Do they know that you struggled with math last year and manipulated Vanessa Newton into doing all your homework for you? That she copied the answers to the test for you and you taped them to your water bottle. You cheated your way through junior year, Terry. My time is never wasted with Rick. He's a genuine person. He never has to pretend with anyone. The only reason you want me is because I don't want you and you can't handle that."

"Michonne…"

"No Terry, I'm done talking to you. I came here because my mom thought it would be a good idea to meet new people. I think I'm gonna go do that." She stood up just as the speaker began to talk. She walked right out of the conference room and into the foyer where she walked and perused all the college tables that were set up. She grabbed a swag bag from most of the tables for the pencils, pens and snacks they had. Since she left the conference room early, she missed lunch, but the protein bars and chocolate candy were a great substitute. She stopped at the last table when she noticed the small animals in a cage on top of the navy blue table cloth.

"Hey, I'm Charles, are you thinking about schools out of the country?" His accent caught her off guard, but also was pleasantly soothing.

"I haven't been, I just came to look at your sugar gliders. They're so cute. What are their names."

"Danai and Andrew. We knew if we brought them, they'd attract people to our table. Everyone loves them."

"They definitely caught my eye." She leaned down to get a closer look at them. Wishing she could take them out and play with them. She noticed the pamphlets on the table and her attention was drawn away from the sugar gliders and to the wording on the glossy paper. "You have a pre law program?"

"We do, one of the best." Michonne watched as Charles picked up another pamphlet and then listened intently as he talked to her about the school, their programs and the scholarships that she would qualify for. Forty five minutes later after having all her questions answered and leaving her information with him, Michonne walked away from Charles just as the other attendants of the conference started to fill the foyer, the luncheon and speech over with. She glanced one more at the sugar gliders and the insignia on the navy blue table cloth, feeling excited about the prospect of college and also conflicted about choices she needed to make.

* * *

"Hey."

"Hey Michonne. I wasn't expecting to hear from you until later tonight. Everything alright." Rick asked worried since she was calling so early.

"Everything's fine. I think I've done enough networking for the rest of the year." She sat down on her bed, kicked her shoes off and plopped back releasing a tired sigh. "You weren't up under a car or anything were you?"

"No." He answered with a chuckle. "Done for the day. On my way home to take a shower and eat."

"I'm about to head to the shower myself, but they have this huge soaker tub in there." She looked over at the bathroom. "Maybe I'll get in it and relax and then order room service."

"Room service, huh? Fancy. I've never ordered room service, hell, I've never been to a hotel either."

"I'd share my fancy hotel food with you if you were here." She said wishfully.

"I can be there in three hours."

"You promise?"

"Just hold off on that bath until I get there." She could hear his smile through the phone.

"You got it. Call me when you get into the city."

* * *

"So what do you think?"

"The pizza was over priced." Rick looked over at Michonne as he answered. They lay in the bed staring up at the ceiling, her body pressed into his, her mind couldn't help drifting back to when he got there.

 _Four hours earlier he had knocked on her door and she was swept up within his arms in one of his tight warm hugs as soon as it was opened. They shared a kiss that heated up once the door closed and Rick carried Michonne to the bed laying her down, never breaking the kiss until he finally noticed her in her fluffy white robe smelling of lavender soap. He lifted his swollen lips from her and stared at the hotel logo on the left front pocket._

" _What is it?" Michonne asked worried and wondering, since his pretty lips weren't on hers anymore._

" _I thought you were gonna wait on the bath." He pouted and Michonne laughed._

" _I did. I just hopped in the shower to wash some of the day... and people off of me." Rick knew she was talking about Terry._

" _Did he touch you?" His eyes were dark and intense, full of the detest he held for the senior class president._

" _Oh god no. Just him being next to me was enough." She smoothed her hand down his arm to calm him and get his eyes to return to their normal color. "It was just a long day, I wanted to get out of that dress and…"_

" _You got nothing on under this?" His hand started to lift the terry material from her chest._

" _Don't you worry about that now." She heard his stomach grumble and gave him a quick peck on the lips before gently pushing him off of her so she could stand up, leaving him laying on the bed feigning hurt. "I ordered a pizza. I knew you'd be hungry. We can relax in the tub after we eat." Rick took a deep breath, mesmerized at how good Michonne was at taking care of him, better than anyone. He was halfway over to her to show her just how much he appreciated her when there was a knock on the door. "Hold that thought." She turned around to head for the door when she felt his arms wrap around her and they walked to the door together._

 _The pizza was good, but nothing compared to Rhee's Pizzeria. They each had a personal sized one, loaded with all their favorite toppings thanks to Michonne._

" _Are you getting full?" Rick asked her as the sat on the floor at the foot of the bed. He was trying to hurry her up, the large bathtub was calling his name._

" _Not really, I could probably eat two more whole pizzas. And some chocolate cake." Michonne knew he was getting antsy about that bath. His not so subtle looks down the front of her robe told her exactly where his mind was between bites of his pizza._

" _I don't doubt for one minute, that you could eat two, probably three more. I'm still trying to figure out where it all goes." She watched as his eyes scanned the entirety of her body. Then followed his finger as it dipped into some sauce on his plate. Thinking he was going to wrap his pretty lips around hi, he fooled her and brought it to her cheek, smearing tomato sauce across her smooth brown skin._

" _Rick! What did you do that for?"_

" _Don't think you have time for more pizza, baby. Looks like you need to take a bath." He laughed, getting up as Michonne reached for him, missing just as he got to his feet._

" _You're in so much trouble Rick Grimes." She chased him around the room coming up short when he leapt over the bed and ran to the bathroom door, waiting for her._

" _You coming to get me?" His smug look as he leaned against the door frame, only ignited a flame in her that grew with each step she took towards him. When she was close enough he reached for her, pulling her to him by the belt of her robe. "You forgive me?" She didn't say anything, just looked into his hungry eyes. "I'll make it up to you." He smiled and licked the sauce off her cheek as she giggled._

" _You better." She was cut off from saying anything else when his hands found their way into her robe, caressing her skin. He kissed her, squeezing her bottom and pushing her further into him. "Mmm… I think...it's time for that bath." Her robe hit the floor and she grabbed Rick's hand leading him into the bathroom to turn on the water._

"The bath was good though." Rick continued with a smile.

"It really was. You have the best hands."

"I work with them all day, I'd hope they were good for something else besides carburetors and oil changes."

"I didn't know they were good at foot massages. You never told me. You've been holding out on me."

"Not holding out, they've just been a little preoccupied with other parts of you." He maneuvered to his side and lifted the sheet they were under to gaze at her naked body underneath.

"You're so silly. Haven't you had enough yet?"

"Not quite." He placed his hand on her belly and squeezed gently, breathing in the scent of the room, a perfect balance of both of them. "How many schools did you get to talk to today?"

"Not too many, I mostly got the swag they were giving out." He looked over at the desk, the top filled with multiple colored plastic bags. "I really just wanted to talk to the ones I applied to...we applied to. You know see if I felt a pull towards any of them. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah. It does." He nodded his head. "So who were you vibing with?"

"Well, they all seemed pretty nice, but I started talking to this man from the University of Oxford. Their pre law program seems amazing."

"Oxford. Is that in New York or something?"

"It's in England, Rick." She smiled at him sweetly.

"England. That's a whole other country Michonne."

"I know. Can you imagine living over there?" She watched as his eyes fixated on a spot on the wall in deep thought. "Can my Georgia boy make it in England?" She ran her hands through the curls at the nape of his neck, still damp from the bath and the sweat they worked up afterwards. "You can do anything Rick." He closed his eyes amazed at her belief in him, she would always be on his team even when he didn't feel worthy enough to play.

"Give me some time to think about it okay? I'd need a passport huh?" She nodded and smiled as the prospect of going to another country to study sunk in.

"No problem. I'll fill out the applications when we get home."

"How about you let me do my own this time." He smiled down at her, getting lost in her warm inviting eyes, the color of his favorite brown sugar syrup. They were so full of love and promises for the future, he couldn't help but feel excited too.

"You want to?"

"Yeah. Can't be that hard. I'll give your hand a break from all that writing you did before."

"Yeah." She reached under the sheet and ran her hand down the length of his body. "I can think of better things to do with them anyways."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven is brought to you by **thematsaidwelcome** and who better to bring the pure sweet memories of the big night of prom than the master keystrokes of fluffy sexiness.

Be sure to check out her other stories on her FF page.

 **-We're The Ones Who Write**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: I took the one less traveled by**

 _May_

"Michonne, smile please. It's prom night, you should be beaming from ear to ear."

"Yeah, baby girl show daddy that megawatt smile of yours." Michonne plastered on her best "it'll do" smile and tried not to blink as the camera flashed in her eyes. "There it is. You look beautiful baby girl."

"Thanks daddy. Can we stop with the pictures now though? My cheeks hurt." Her dad lowered the camera and nodded his head slowly. He had taken almost one hundred pictures of Michonne since he'd gotten there a few hours earlier to see her off to the prom. His little girl was growing up faster than he could wrap his head around. No matter what his relationship was with her mother, he didn't want to miss this milestones for anything.

"What time will your date be here?" He asked glancing at his watch. Michonne cut her eyes at her mother quickly, hoping she didn't notice before answering his question, but before she could, her mother chimed in.

"Oh, Michonne refused to go to prom with the most popular boy at school, so she's going stag...actually she's third wheeling it with her friend Sasha and her boyfriend." This time Michonne had no intention of hiding her disdain for her mother's opinion of her prom date, or lack thereof, she rolled her eyes and huffed out a slow breath.

"Don't sweat it babygirl, date or no date, you'll be the prettiest thing there." To her relief a knock came at the door and Michonne rushed to let Sasha in, thankful her friend was always on time, today being no exception.

"Thank god." She whispered when she opened the door to see Sasha in her magenta floor length gown. It was one shoulder and the heavy jersey fabric clung to her small frame, exquisitely, leaving Michonne to gasp at how beautiful her friend looked. "Wow Sasha."

"She looks great right?" Abe's booming voice, drew Michonne's eyes from Sasha and up to his beaming face. He choose to wear his JROTC uniform and looked down right handsome in it. Standing side by side, she could see why the two of them choose each other and wished nothing but the best for them.

"You ready girl?" Sasha asked, wanting to get to the venue as soon as possible.

"Ugh... My dads here and he won't let me go without taking a couple more pictures of me. You get to join in the fun this time." She pulled Sasha by the arm and lead her into the house. The pictures started at the staircase, and didn't finish until they were out the door and driving down the street.

"Man, you're dad is really trying to fill a whole album with pictures, isn't he?" Abe asked her.

"Let's try to forget about all that, he's competing with my mom. Guilt or something."

"Tell him to do it with money next time." Sasha joked.

###

"How do I look Sasha?"

"You look like a 27 out of 10. His eyes are gonna pop out of his head." Michonne sat in the backseat and checked her makeup, making sure it was perfect. She closed her compact as Abe made a right turn, pulling into a vacant parking lot.

"Your chariot awaits, darling." Abe boomed coming to a stop. Michonne held her breath and looked over as her door was opened. Rick reached his hand in to help her out and stood frozen when they were eye to eye. Michonne wouldn't dare go to prom without Rick by her side, but she also didn't want to subject him to her mother's pro-Terry antics either, so they decided that they would tell her that she was going by herself with Abe and Sasha, and they would drop her off where Rick was waiting.

"Hi." She said shyly, biting her bottom lip.

"You look beautiful." He took in her daffodil colored sleeveless dress with sheer cutouts throughout the bodice and long skirt with an enticing split that ran the length of her gorgeous legs. He closed the door and they walked off towards his truck, seemingly forgetting about Abe and Sasha who drove off, not wanting to interfere with the lovesick couple. "I almost don't want to share you with anymore eyes tonight." He opened the door for her and the scent of vanilla wafted out to her nostrils. "I spent all day cleaning it. Can't have you getting your dress dirty."

"Thank you." He helped her climb up into the passenger seat and she finally allowed her eyes to look at something other than his face. His strong jawline and spellbinding lips, usually had all her attention after she had to forcefully make herself stop looking into his eye. She took him in as he stood there with the door still open, his dark navy suit and tie to match her dress, that she bought him, made him look like he just stepped out of GQ magazine. Even his trusty old boots looked good tonight. She moved her hand to his lapel, pretending to fix it, and gently pulled him to her. "You look amazing." He blushed and she moved her lips to his, kissing away his bashfulness. "I hope you can dance in those boots of yours."

"You're about to find out."

###

"Those are some interesting moves you have there Rick. You learn that down at the shop watching YouTube videos?"

"Oh, leave him alone Abe. We're having a great time." Michonne told him, coming to Rick's rescue as they sipped from their drinks at the table. They had been dancing for an hour, every song was Michonne's jam, and she wouldn't let Rick sit down. He figured his average white boy dance moves would be enough for her to put him out of his misery, but in true Michonne fashion, she loved him warts and all and his bad, maybe a little embarrassing dance moves weren't enough to make her tell him to sit down where he could just watch from the sidelines.

"Next slow song is ours, but let's sit out the fast ones for a while, okay."

"No problem, Rick." She smiled at him. "Can't have you hurting yourself before the nights over." They looked up at the speakers as Love is a Battlefield started to play. Michonne looked at Sasha and they shrugged their shoulders.

"I'll bet five dollars that Miss Peletier had something to do with this song." Rick said to the group.

"Not a chance, she's definitely a Benatar fan." Sasha said to him.

"I think I saw one of those headbands in the bottom drawer of her desk."

"You did not, Rick." Michonne laughed then looked at him. "You sure you don't want to dance?"

"Slow one."

"Okay, okay." They watched as Abe and Sasha, got up to dance to the end of the song, and then danced right into the next one. I Wanna Dance With Somebody blasted through the speakers and Sasha danced circles around Abe.

"Are you having a good time?" Rick asked Michonne.

"I'm having the best time. We're at prom, Rick. Dressed up, dancing... and before the nights over, we're gonna have our pictures taken over there by that silly looking photographer in the cheesy suit." She smiled watching him notice the multicolored plaid suit the man wore. "Yeah….can it get any better?"

"Oh it can get better alright." Rick looked at her with _that look_ and she was almost paralyzed to it, until the dj announced that they were slowing things down a bit. She hopped up, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the dance floor. "You don't even know what the song is."

"It doesn't matter. It's a slow one, and that means you get to hold me close." The sultry voice of Otis Redding started and Rick lifted Michonne's arm, spinning her once and bringing her into him as "These Arms of Mine" played. She was contentedly cocooned in his tight embrace, resting her head on his chest with her eyes closed as they got lost in the warmth of their bodies pressed together.

"This is definitely not a Horvath song. He looks more like the classical music type. Drive the old RV around blasting Bach or Mozart." Rick felt Michonne vibrate against him with laughter as she thought about the grey haired man rocking out to a string orchestra. She felt a tap on her shoulder when the song ended and reluctantly opened them to see Sasha's face.

"Can I cut in?" she joked, then she held up the picture that she and Abe took earlier. They both squealed at how cute the picture was. The large ginger haired Abe, couldn't hide his embarrassment at all, so he owned it.

"She makes me look good."

"Yeah she does." Michonne agreed.

"You two need to go and get yours, the lines not that long anymore."

"Oh good. Give me a few minutes to freshen up my makeup. We'll be back." Michonne dragged Sasha with her to the restroom, almost running into Lori when the door swung open.

"Damn girl, watch where you're going." Sasha said to her with a bit more attitude than necessary.

"Oh my bad. Didn't see y'all there." Lori flipping her hair over her shoulder and glanced at her polished nails. "As a matter of fact, I haven't seen you at all tonight. You just now getting here?"

"Why you lying. I saw you staring at her and Rick while they danced."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I've been too busy with my date Terry. He's got great moves...on and off the dance floor."

"That's awesome news Lori. You two have fun okay." Not wanting to listen to her anymore, and not wanting things to escalate with Sasha's attitude, Michonne pushed passed her and walked into the bathroom.

"That bitch is such a hater!"

"Don't worry about her Sasha." Michonne pulled out her lipstick and started to blot her face with a paper towel. "You never told me. Is tonight the night?" Michonne looked at the floor to see if any feet could be seen in the stalls. "For you and Abe?"

"Yeah, I think." Sasha whispered even though they were alone. "We've got a hotel room and everything. He said it's all up to me. He's got a trunk full of board games if I change my mind."

"That's sweet." Michonne swept the color across her lips.

"What about you and Rick?"

"You know what… I didn't plan anything past getting here to prom with him. I guess it'll be a booth at IHOP for us."

"They've got better food than whatever it is they served here."

It was just after 11:30 when they left the prom. Michonne held her and Rick's prom picture in one hand and his hand in the other. He held her heels and his keys in his. He had loosened his tie and undone the top buttons. His threshold for formal wear having reached its peak an hour ago, but since Michonne was still radiant and beaming he held his tongue, not wanting to dampen the night in any way.

"Are you all danced out or do you have a few moves left in you."

"I'm done, and if you suggest anything that requires me to put my shoes back one, it's gonna be a hard no." Michonne answered.

"Noted." They drove off and Michonne rolled the window down, letting the breeze hit her face watching the lights of the county pass by as they drove. She didn't know where they were going until Rick took a familiar turn stopping the truck to open the gate. She turned to him and smiled, grateful that he planned ahead. "Give me a few minutes to set things up." He told her after putting the truck in park after they came to their final stop.

"Okay." He kissed her quickly and got out then she heard him shuffling things around as the truck moved up and down and side to side. She turned her head to see what he was doing back there.

"No peeking!" He shouted, knowing she was trying to.

"I'm not." She laughed out and turned to the front again. It took ten more minutes for things to quiet down and her door to be opened.

"Ready?" He helped her step down and they walked to the back of the truck. He had set up the air mattress again, with the same throw pillows and duvet. This time he covered it in rose petals and a few lanterns for light and effect sat on top of the cab of the truck.

"Rick…" she whispered.

"Thought I'd do a little something extra tonight. Come on." He helped her up and then followed suit, coming to rest on his side next to her as she sat leaning with her hands behind her and her legs stretched out in front of her.

"It's really beautiful here, Rick." She reached out and ran her fingers through his hair, pulling him to her to rest his head in her lap. "All these stars. Millions of them, twinkling and lighting the sky."

"Makes you realize how small we are."

"Not small. Just not as big." She moaned when his hands touched her feet and started kneading the tired skin.

"It wasn't until I met you that I realized my dreams could be bigger than the shop. Now they involve college and professors, getting a degree and making something of myself."

"I don't think you needed me for that. You would have figured it out eventually."

"Well, I'm thanking you for it anyways." His hand started to make its way up her leg, under her dress, stopping when he reached her hips. He raised the skirt of her dress to her waist, kissing his way up her toned calves, delectable knees and lush thighs. He looked up at her and watched as she lowered herself to her elbows, not wanting to miss anything he was going to do to her. His curls dropped to her center and blocked her view, but her sense of touch was in overdrive. She felt his fingers move her panties out of the way, his shoulder widened her leg out and then his wet warm tongue was caressing her folds, lapping at her wetness and sweeping over her slit. Michonne was in bliss. Rick feeling obstructed by the satin she still wore and not wanting to stop to allow her to remove them, simply tore them off with both hands and silenced any scolding by sucking on her clit and inserting his fingers into her tight wet walls.

"Oh...my...I'm gonna...Rick...Rick." Unable to hold herself up anymore she fell to her back, reaching for his head to hold him in place as her moonlit orgasm coursed through her withering body. He continued to lazily lap at her, inhaling her scent and letting her catch her breath. He stopped when he felt her scoot back leaving him to lie on his back. She moved to get his pants off while he unbuttoned his shirt. Her dress came off next once it was unzipped, leaving her in just her strapless bra. She lined up at the tip of his length and sank down slowly with a sigh that echoed Ricks. He rubbed his hands up her thighs squeezing at her waist when she ran out of room to take anymore of him in.

"Fuck...Michonne. You're so beautiful." He reached for the back of her neck, pulling her face down to kiss her. She started to move her hips when his tongue touched hers, he matched her movements thrusting up into her with every downstroke she made. She broke the kiss to moan as he touched the deepest part of her over and over again. "Michonne...that's it baby."

"God, you feel…so…" Her head rolled forward as the warmth washed over her, starting with a tingle in her toes and moving up to a tickle down her spine and finishing with a throbbing in her head. She held onto Rick's forearms exploding around him as he erupted within her, with a satisfied groan. She collapsed on top of him, sweaty, sated and completely enamored by the boy who was lovingly rubbing circles along her back. "Can we just stay here forever?"

"I wouldn't mind that at all." He kissed the top of her head and looked up at their audience of stars, thanking them for bringing her into his life.

* * *

"What do you think of this one Michonne?" Her mother held up a bright orange bed in a bag and was quickly given a disgusted look.

"I'm not trying to land planes in my dorm room mom." Michonne pushed the already full cart down the aisle stopping at a large handled plastic bag filled with a lavender and navy blue comforter, deciding that was the one she wanted. She picked it up and tossed it in the cart.

"Oh good. I like that one. Now we just need curtains to match." Michonne sighed, spending all day shopping with her mother was not her idea of a good time, but here she was five hours in, still out shopping, pushing a cart down the bed and bath store. Since graduation, it seemed all her mother wanted to do was spend more and more time with her. It was understandable, being the summer before college, but between her lifeguard job and Rick, spending time with her mother was starting to become a chore.

"I think some simple white ones will be fine mom. I don't know what color my roommate likes."

"You're right. What about a few decorative pillows to match? Maybe a few picture frames. Can't have you forgetting about your dear ole mom when you're up North enjoying the Ivy League life."

"Why would I forget about you mom... how could I forget about you? You're gonna call me everyday, plus holidays don't stop when my freshman year starts."

"I know Michonne." She stood in front in her smoothing her hair back. "I know moving wasn't the easiest thing for you to go through and the divorce was even harder, but you dealt with it like a champ. I'm so proud of you Michonne. All I want is the best for you. For you to spread your wings and find out who you really are before settling down with a boy."

"Mom…"

"Let me finish. I might not agree with who you spend your time with, but I can't argue with the fact that he's a sweet young man. Very respectful, even with how I treated him. And smart. You never told me he was so smart."

"You didn't want to listen."

"Maybe not, but I'm not stupid. I know he'll be up there with you. Make smart choices. Make them for you alone." She pressed a loving finger into Michonne's shoulder for emphasis. "Go to parties and football games. Don't act married before you are. See the world before promising it to anyone else." Michonne took her words to heart, appreciating them, even if they did come at an awkward time. When her mother put her arms around her, she fell into her embrace and they hugged right there in the middle of aisle twelve, in front of the curtains that would please both Michonne and her roommate.

* * *

" _Are you sure you have to wait a week to come?"_

" _Yeah, Im sorry. I've gotta handle this thing with my mom. It should take a few days, at least that's what the sheriff said."_

" _Is she in a lot of trouble?"_

" _Nothing for you to worry about. Are you settling in okay? Your roommate isn't some weirdo who eats all your food is she?"_

" _No, she's pretty cool. Her names Maggie. A farm girl or something." She went quiet, sighing thinking about how she would rather have Rick talking to her face to face instead of over the phone, but his mother had gotten into some kind of trouble back home and he had to stay and take care of things before he left. "I miss you Rick."_

" _I miss you too, baby. Just a few more days and I'll be up there with you. You can give me the grand tour and everything."_

" _Okay... I can't wait."_

Michonne replayed that conversation back in her mind as she read the invitation for her ten year class reunion. A few days turned into many and those turned into months. The phone calls became more infrequent as she got involved with campus activities. She flew back home for holidays, but always seemed to miss him when she was there. He was always out of town according to his mother and Daryl. The last time she checked he was away at the academy. It made her smile that he had found something, even if it didn't include her, he had taken the road less traveled by. She heard from her mother that he was a sheriff's deputy now and she heard through Sasha at her and Abe's third baby shower that he was still single. Michonne had no expectations for a reconciliation, but she did want to see him. Ten years is a long time to wonder about someone. So she checked the box on the invite that said accept, placed it into an envelope and mailed it off.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter eight is brought to you by **cranesinthesky** , **winterscorpion** and **thematsaidwelcome**. We are at the end of this story and hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it.

Please be sure to check out the writers other stories on their FF pages.

 **-We're The Ones Who Write**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: That Has Made All The Difference**

Rick felt his heart beat wildly in his chest he stepped out of his truck, his boots clicking against the asphalt beneath his feet. He removed his sheriff's hat from his head and ran a hand through his recently trimmed curls. Just ahead of him, pass the dozens of cars that filled the parking lot, his former classmates made their way into the high school, laughing and talking as they caught up with each other. The entrance was decorated with balloons and a banner that hung over the doorway welcoming back the former students.

He stood back against his truck for a few minutes, his eyes scanning the group of people. He was hoping that he would get a glimpse of her, the love that he had let down ten years ago. She was nowhere to be seen outside and he wasn't even sure if she would even be there at all tonight. He wouldn't blame her if she didn't show up. From what he heard from Abe, she was a powerhouse of a lawyer up north, having been named one of the 30 under 30 for young lawyers and policymakers. She graduated at the top of her class for undergrad and went on to one of the best law schools in the country.

Michonne's list of achievements made him smile. He had always known she would do well in life, not just because of her work ethic and mind but also for her heart. When she loved something- or someone- she loved it hard, often putting that special something before herself. He had witnessed it first hand years ago and though he didn't take the same road that she did, he turned out okay. He had to take his own road to figure out what he wanted in life and in the end, he figured it out. There was only one thing missing.

Michonne.

Still, he was determined to keep hope alive. So with his hat in his hands, he made his way inside.

##

"Rick! Oh my goodness, how are you?" Sasha smiled brightly at Rick as she pulled him in for a hug, her long earrings dangling against his shoulder. "The sheriff's office must have been keeping you busy because I've barely seen you in the past month or so. This small town has that much crime?"

"No, you just have too many kids. Seems like they've been holding you hostage," he joked as he pulled away. He chuckled as she playfully hit him on the arm.

"Whatever, Rick. Between all three of them, they have me running from point a to point b every day." She pulled out her phone to show him a recent picture of her children. "My oldest actually just told me he wants to be a cop when he grows up so I was thinking about bringing him by the station so he could see you in action."

"Bring him by," he nodded. "He can sit in the squad car. Kids seem to enjoy that the most."

"I definitely will." She paused for a second, her eyes seeming to gleam with pride as she looked him over. "I am very proud of you, Rick, at how far you've come. Who would have guessed that the so called bad boy mechanic would become a cop?"

Rick smile bashfully, reaching back to rub the back of his neck. "Yeah, well, I had some help in that department. If it wasn't for Michonne, I wouldn't have made it this far."

He did a quick scan of the crowd again. He had only been inside for about twenty minutes now, but had yet to see her. He felt his stomach drop in disappointment. "Is she- do you know if she's coming tonight?"

Sasha shrugged, her own eyes retreating to the people around them. "She said she would be here, but I haven't heard from her today. Maybe she's just running late."

"Yeah, maybe so," he said softly, hoping she was right.

He excused himself, making his way over to the drink table for a glass of champagne to calm his nerves. It wasn't until he had poured himself a drink did he notice the beauty across the room.

He nearly dropped his glass at the sight of her, her familiar face drawing up memories of their nearly two years together. She was talking to Ms. Peletier and her megawatt smile practically lit up the room. She wore a yellow sleeveless dress, the fabric showcasing off her slim body that had matured over the years. Her hair was pulled away from her face, her features still as beautiful as ever.

She was perfect.

Rick set his full champagne flute down, his eyes still on her. He was determined to keep his sight on her and to never let her go. He had did that once; he didn't want to do it again.

As if she felt his eyes on her, her gaze moved from off of Ms. Peletier and met his, her smile faltering a bit at the sight of him. He stopped breathing for a minute, thinking that maybe she didn't want to see him, that maybe she didn't share the same sentiment that he did.

Those thoughts, however, were quickly tossed out of the window, when a genuine smile appeared on her face. She looked thoroughly happy to see him, her gaze never leaving his as she excused herself from Ms. Peletier and made her way over to him.

###

Every step she took towards him, Rick felt his palms get sweatier. It wasn't just the beautiful bright yellow she wore, god he loved her in that color, that drew every eye to her as she made her way over. The damn woman exuded an inner glow that drew all five senses of everyone around to her sleek frame. Rick remembered the first day he ever laid eyes on her down to the very last detail. From the sparkle from her decorated "Black Girls Rock" bag, to the musical lilt of her confident voice. Hell, even the Robert Frost poem that was like some preordained proclamation of how his life was going to be irreparably changed was burned into his memory. The day that he knew everything had changed and that the road he was on had divided forever because of this sunburst of a woman. As the rays of her inner light drew nearer, his mouth dried up and he had to swallow a couple of times and lick his own bottom lip to recover some moisture.

She was about ten steps away from him when he felt someone brush past him.

"Babe," Rick heard her exclaim as he saw the back of the tall, brown haired, shoulder brusher scoop up his shining star into a tight hug.

"What are you doing here," Michonne asked staring up in wonderment at the man, Rick momentarily forgotten, as her smile widened and her eyes glistened with Rick could see were happy tears.

"Well, you didn't sound like my girl when we spoke last night," the stranger answered and Rick's heart took a dive into his well worn boots, "So I thought I'd come and make sure you had a dance partner."

"Oh Aaron, I can't believe you babe," Michonne said and Rick had just about all the babes, and my girls he could stomach. He turned on his heel to locate the nearest exit sign when Michonne finally noticed him again.

"Rick," she called and he sighed as he brought his fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose. Here we go, Rick thought as he cursed under his breath. He gathered his beaten pride and made a promise to make sure each and every speeding ticket he ever let slide for Abe would make an unlikely reappearance in that man's mailbox come Monday morning. Rick mentally berated himself for letting his old friend convince him to come to the stupid reunion on the slim hope that she would be there. On the glimmer that he'd be able to see her and what… rekindle an old flame like those soppy Lifetime movies his geriatric mother cried her eyes out to whenever he visited her in the assisted care facility where she lived.

Hard living, alcohol and god knows what other substances his mother had punished her body with had left Jessie an empty shell. A shell that Rick tried his best to keep intact with his steadfast care while he still trained to maintain the path he was determined to keep on to prove his own self worth. He even begrudgingly gave his mother some of the credit, because if not for her constant struggles with the law he would never have found his true purpose. His drive to help women and families like his,ones that had to live with the curse of substance abuse, came from looking into the blue eyes he inherited from her and seeing nothing but emptiness and loss. He made sure purveyors of the evil that plagued the innocent and guilty alike never saw the light of day after meeting him with his badge and all the power that it endowed him. His own unique experience that his upbringing had afforded him gave him better insight and made him one of the most admired and decorated Sheriff's Deputies in the county. He told her as much on one of his regular visits with her and Jessie, in a rare moment of clarity told her son how proud she was of him.

He was happy in that moment but he remembered thinking of the one woman who he had really wanted to hear those words come out of her beautiful mouth. The same woman who had tried to show him that he could be more than the car grease covered trouble maker from the wrong side of the tracks. The same woman he avoided seeing every time she came to visit, instead using Daryl and Sasha as his go-betweens because he couldn't bear seeing the disappointment in those beautiful coffee eyes with their flecks of gold at the iris. He couldn't explain away all the postponements due to all his trials and tribulations with his mother and his father's unexpected and disastrous return. He didn't want to tell her her how much he wished he had just gone straight to join her instead of staying and finally having it out with his father.

Every day had pushed him further away from his... their, dream of him finally escaping the quicksand pull of his family burdens. In the end, even after his big brother finally came back to help him put things to right and sending his father permanently away from their lives, Rick felt it was too late. Too late to be with Michonne after hearing about her many accolades while away at school. Too late to make amends on a life deferred. And now again he was too late as he saw Michonne wrapped in another man's arms even as she looked at him and called his name.

He sighed and took the few steps to close the small distance between him, Michonne and Mr. Babe who still had his arm loosely around her tiny waist. An arm Rick wanted to break, but a man of the law just couldn't do things like that, so he gritted his teeth and tried to muster a smile.

"Hey… uh, hello Michonne," he started, "Fancy seeing you here." Did I just say that in my out loud voice, fuck, Rick felt the blood rush to his cheeks and the top of his ears burned.

Michonne's smile dazzled even more up close as she let go of her companion, "Yeah, fancy that, huh," she chuckled softly, "I… I was just asking Ms. Peletier about you."

"Oh, I get to call her Carol now," he replied, a small smirk played on his lips, "But that's only on special occasions. Cuz… you know no matter what, 'Don't let the pixie cut fool ya, cuz…"

"Cutting you down to my size is only a razor's edge away," she finished with him, effectively breaking the heavy tension with her soft laughter. The moment of levity was brief when a soft cough interrupted their shared memories of the feisty teacher.

"Oh, I'm being so rude," Michonne turned to her companion and held her hand out to bring Aaron forward, "Rick I'd like you to meet Aaron."

A full smile of recognition came to Aaron's eyes when he brought his hand to shake Rick's excitedly.

"Rick? THE Rick Grimes," Aaron exclaimed excitedly, "Man, I've heard so much about you. It's so good to put a face to the name."

Rick tilted his head and squinted before he could cobble together a gracious reply to the man who he had heard absolutely nothing about. He mentally added Sasha's name to the speeding ticket list right next to her husband's. Damn, couldn't somebody have warned him that he was going to have to swallow his weight in curse words and pride, he asked to the universe as he stuck his hand out to shake Aaron's hand roughly.

"Erm, nice to meet you Aaron," Rick's voice came out more brusquely than he intended, "Well, it was good seeing you too Michonne but I… I was just stopping in. You know," he gestured to his uniform, "Makin' sure thangs don't get too rowdy. Keepin' the peace, etcetera."

He made another move to leave when he felt her small hand on his elbow.

"You… you're leaving so soon… but I was hoping too…" Michonne started, when Aaron pulled his vibrating phone out.

"Oh crap, it's Eric," Aaron gasped, "I forgot to call him to let him know I got here ok. You know how worried he gets."

Michonne laughed and pushed Aaron to answer his call, "Yes, it's almost like he doesn't trust your driving or something Mr. Fast & Furious. Go talk to your husband babe. Give him my love and thank him for loaning you out to me for the night."

Aaron already had the phone to his ear as he walked to a quieter corner, "He heard you and he said 'sharing is caring'," he yelled back at her from over his shoulder.

Michonne shook her head and chuckled and looked back at a totally nonplussed Rick.

"Rick?"

"Did… did you just say his husband, Chonne," Rick asked incredulous that he actually heard right.

"Oh gosh, Aaron's more like both our husband's, as much as he takes care of me," she smiled warmly, "He has done, ever since we met at law school. 'Sharing is caring' was in my best woman's speech at their wedding."

Michonne had barely finished her sentence when Rick grabbed her into the tightest hug and buried his face in her neck.

"I… I thought," Rick mumbled as he felt her arms wrap around his neck that matched his embrace, "I don't even want to tell you what I thought."

Michonne's eyes widened at the realization that she was mere moments of losing Rick again, to a case of mistaken identity no less.

"So… you're staying for a little while longer," she whispered into his ear, not daring to relinquish her hold on him any more than he was ready to step out of the small bubble they had created in the crowded space.

"Nah… I'm going to be staying for a while longer," he answered and nuzzled even more into her neck.

"Good," Michonne said as she took a tiny step back and looked into the deep blue sea of the eyes she had never stopped missing, "Because I think I hear them playing our song."

Rick stared back down into her half lidded cocoa orbs, and instantly recognised the first chords of the song. As the soulful voice crooned the words, "these…. arms… of mine…" Rick wrapped his arms around Michonne tighter and they began to dance where they stood.

###

Rick didn't remember them declaring this song as theirs, but as the lyrics said, his arms had been lonely without her. So he held her just a little tighter, her warm body felt just as he'd remembered and had dreamt about for so many years. He vowed that if he ever got the chance, he would tell her all that he never got to, never had the nerve to all those years ago. He looked down into her eyes and was lost within her wonderous stare, forgetting almost every word he'd ever rehearsed, only being able to utter two of them.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be," she replied, easing his worried mind, "I understand that you had to take care of things with your mother. It took me a while to do that, but I did."

"Yeah?"

"Believe it or not, my mom helped me in seeing that you had your reasons and I needed to be okay with them."

"Your mom did?"

"Oh, she's a huge Rick Grimes fan." Michonne's smile was contagious and her statement about her mom caught his off guard. "She kept me in the know of all of your accomplishments. Even when you helped her with her car a few times. I felt like I was there when you graduated the academy. She called all ecstatic about you having your picture in the paper."

"Yeah, she came by the shop a few times and let it slip that you were doing good in school and had just got accepted to law school. She even showed me the acceptance letter on her phone."

"She did?" Michonne shook her head laughing at her mother. "Her subtle has always lacked the subtle." Rick sighed feeling her laugh again against his chest at her own joke. She relaxed into him, laying her head on his chest. The lyrics of the song fading away and moving into the next one. Neither of them noticed. "I'm proud of you Rick." She took a deep breath before continuing, "Things didn't go the way we planned, but you didn't let that stop you from becoming exactly who you were supposed to be."

"It means a lot to hear you say that... I always worried that I disappointed you," he looked down at her face, as radiant as ever, "You were the one person that I couldn't bear to see any hurt in your eyes. That's why I avoided you all those years."

"Well if you had just come out of hiding, I could have told you that I wasn't mad."

"You can put it all on me. I deserve it." She didn't want him to blame himself for what happened all those years ago. He didn't have any control of it, so she changed the subject.

"This uniform is something else." She ran her hands down the front of his uniform shirt and took a step back to get a better look at him.

"Hey, where are you going?" The coldness he felt when she stepped out of his arms was deflating, he needed her back where she belonged. He looked at her smiling face and pulled her body into his again. She didn't protest, inhaling his cologne when she rested her head on his chest again. They did a slow simple two step to some song that neither of them had heard before, and they weren't listening to now.

"You can see it later, right now I just want to dance with you."

"You think you can make up for lost times with a few dances," she asked lifting her head to look at his crystal blue eyes.

"I...I just thought…"

"It's fine Rick," her head found his chest again, "There's no other place I'd rather be right now."

The music never stopped, and neither did their dance. No matter the song, they always swayed slow, and didn't care if the upbeat tempo didn't match the dance steps. They talked about everything, filling in the parts Michonne's mother had missed. It was his laughter that Michonne had wanted to hear and it was just her that he had longed for. Had it not been for an interruption from Abe and Sasha, they would have stood there in their own little world, oblivious to the fact that everyone had started to file out of the gym.

"You planning on turning the lights out deputy," Abe asked a little too loudly.

"Why are you always messing with our flow Sasha," Michonne asked, opening her eyes to see Sasha grinning at her.

"Consistency... You look good girl." She gave her a tight hug and looked around the gym, her eyes landing on Lori who was glaring daggers at Michonne, ignoring her own drunken overweight husband's attempts at dancing and still obviously pining for something that had no chance of being. Ignoring her cold stare, Sasha smiled and gave Lori a wink, then turned to face Rick and Michonne again. "Can you believe it's been ten years since we graduated? There's no way I'm a day over twenty four and a half."

"You sure don't look it," Michonne said to her.

"It's those Ford genes. We don't age."

"I don't even have Ford genes."

"You've had enough in you," Abe retorted, and then moved out of the way of her swatting hand.

"Abraham Ford!"

"See y'all later." He walked away as fast as he could followed by his embarrassed though amused wife.

"They haven't changed at all." Rick said, having witnessed their banter firsthand for years.

"Wow, we really did close this place down," Michonne looked around the empty gym, only a few stragglers remained.

"If I remember correctly, after prom, your feet were killing you. You doing alright now?"

"Dancing the night away, does that to me." She used her hand to lean against him and took off her heels. "You still the king of foot massages?"

"I think I could arrange one for you." He looked towards the double doors that lead out to the parking lot. "You have plans for the rest of the night?"

"Nothing pressing."

"Do you want to take a ride with me?" He instantly thought of the gated field where they had first became one with another that one summer night and for many more nights after that.

He could tell she was thinking of the same as her smile reached her eyes.

"I'd love to."


End file.
